


Digimon Trinity

by Crazyeight



Category: Digimon - All Media Types, Digimon Adventure Zero Two | Digimon Adventure 02, Digimon Tamers
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, Friendship/Love, Gen, Humor, Male-Female Friendship, Romantic Friendship, Some Humor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-27
Updated: 2018-02-18
Packaged: 2018-07-27 00:37:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 101
Words: 375,803
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7596466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crazyeight/pseuds/Crazyeight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The War is over, or so it is thought. For the Digidestined, life goes on, but with digimon emerging once more into the real world, the world will change again. Divided they fall, but a new generation of heroes, the Tamers, will rise to unite against the new threat.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Episode 1: Guilmon Comes Alive - Anomaly

**Author's Note:**

> So I got to talking with fellow writer Ruki44 and we went back and forth on various ideas, and one of them that came up was how Tamers would be if some characters in Tamers were originally Digidestined (Riley being Yolei and Yamaki being TK) and the Tamers world were originally the Adventure world. What changes would follow? Looking at it logically, it would be a progression. Adventure introduced us to the digital world for the first time and 02 brought us back to it, making it harder and harder for the digital world to remain a secret from humans until finally it just couldn't be hidden at all no matter how good the cover up. It became one of those, "You have to write this" moments.
> 
> So what would life be like post 02? Its ending paints a nice pretty picture, but life, as we know, rarely works out like that with dream jobs and babies-ever-after. Especially since the last 02 Drama CD hinted that something terrible was just starting…a new enemy had emerged, breaking through the digital worlds defenses. Fast forward from that, and we're in the Tamers time. What kind of world exists now?
> 
> Let's explore the hypothetical…

There it was, framed against a black void broken only by the shining field of stars that lay behind it, the planet Earth. Matt Ishida placed a hand against the window of his spacecraft, smiling at it. On that tiny, blue orb, lay his heart and all the cares and worries that went with her. One of the most important and special people in the world; Sora Takenouchi. He could picture her in his mind's eye; her brown-eyes and ginger-hair. He wondered what she was doing right now, but he couldn't contact her just yet to find out.

"We're ready for communications blackout, Matt," came a husky voice from behind him. Matt glanced over his shoulder at the blue-furred, short and rather rotund, wolf-like creature with a horn on his forehead. Matt smiled at the creature as if there was nothing out of the ordinary about his presence. Indeed, his expression indicated long familiarity and camaraderie.

"All right, Gabumon," he said, pushing away from the window and floating over to his seat at the head of the capsule. "I'll fire the thrusters one more time. Tell Izzy to strap in."

"Got it," Gabumon nodded before pushing away from his seat and ducking downward toward the entrance to the Lunar-Lander section of their vehicle. Matt looked away from his instruments one last time to take another look out the window. The Earth was still there, accompanied now by the first glimpses of the Moon's surface.

Unlike their adventures that started all those years ago in a faraway summer camp, they knew exactly where they were right now, well on their way into exploring another great unknown.

Gabumon returned with a man with hair that appeared to be almost red in appearance, and the two of them strapped themselves in.

Matt tapped the thrusters and inserted their vessel, Friendship One, into Lunar orbit.

**Digimon Trinity**

By: Crazyeight

Chapter: 01/Anomaly

Beneath a sky dominated by white light, a large, horse-like creature covered in silver and gold armor with golden wings raced across a landscape composed of green and gold circuits, chasing after a tiny, white-blog of a creature with large, green eyes. The horse, a creature known as a _Maildramon_ growled at the blob, his hooves pounding upon the ground.

"Stay _still!"_ he howled, becoming enraged as the creature suddenly ducked to the left, and then right, his menacing tone only serving to encourage its flight. Although he was faster, Maildramon didn't turn as easily as this tiny creampuff of a digimon. _Confound it! How did it escape the cage?_ he wondered. _It was sealed! There was no way it could have gotten out on its own!_

Of course, as Maildramon knew, there was no such thing as something being _impossible,_ but the sheer improbability drove him insane with rage all the same. Only beings of the most high could have broken free.

None of that mattered now however. His first duty was to reclaim the Catalyst and take it somewhere safe; somewhere… _anywhere._ As long as it was far.

So he chased after the Catalyst.

"Oh, oh…" the Catalyst whimpered, continuing to run on its tiny legs. "Maybe we should talk about this. If you give me a chance I'm sure we could work this out!"

 _There is no working this out!_ Maildramon thought, stamping after the Catalyst. There would be only _one_ way this would end. He made that very clear. Return to the cage and they would proceed from there. Why didn't the Catalyst understand that?

"I just wanted to play!" the Catalyst continued to plead. Oh, that infuriated Maildramon all the more. Play? _Play?!_

 _The safety of the digital world depends on you, and you broke free, endangering everything just to_ play?!

If the Catalyst weren't so important to the digital world's survival, he'd stomp its miserable existence into dust, end it all right there. That was not the way of the forces of Light however. No. Hate it he would, but he'd do his duty.

Finally, the creampuff tripped and tumbled to the ground, muttering a barely audible _"Aw nuts"_ as it did so. Triumph surged through Maildramon as he put on the speed. At long last this wretched chase was over, and he could get back to doing his duty in the service of the Sovereigns and…

Suddenly a collision.

A black-scaled dinosaur-like creature—a DarkTyrannomon slammed into him, nearly knocking him to the side and snatching hold of his horn between his jaws. Maildramon gaped in astonishment at this. To think that the forces of Darkness had managed to come _this_ far already? Were things that bad? Maildramon didn't dwell on it for very long and quickly turned the tide, throwing all his bodyweight on the dinosaur and crushing it to the ground. This battle would end quickly. The DarkTyrannomon's body was already blurring and becoming distorted, its bodily structure struggling to keep itself together in the face of Maildramon's overwhelming power. The horse laughed delightedly. To think that the Darkness would be so foolish to send such a weak foe against him…

A gleam of light from where the Catalyst still lay caught his attention just then, and Maildramon had only a second's worth of dawning horror come upon him before the DarkTyrannomon exploded in a glorious firestorm, from which it emerged… _transformed!_ It was larger now, grey-colored with mechanical parts dotting its body. A _MetalTyrannomon_ now, and as a show of power to go along with its new form, it casually brought a massive claw down on Maildramon.

His vaunted armor, a pride amongst the forces of Light, didn't so much as put up even a pitiable defense. His body was destroyed before he even knew what was happening—save for how badly he failed in his mission—and the last thing he heard upon his death were shouting of the words…

_"GAME OVERRR!"_

**###**

Calumon didn't understand why he had been in the cage when he first opened his eyes, or why there were so many angry digimon, ignoring his pleas, carrying him around, running, shouting…fighting. The only answers he received for his questions were the loud stampings of feet, battle cries and shouts about something called a _Catalyst_. Then…this place. Wherever this place was. Not that Calumon cared. It was calmer than the other place had been with less digimon trying to destroy each other and a lot more shiny lights. There seemed to be glowing creatures too, with odd, arm-shaped wings and a funny sprig upon their heads. They giggled and chirped so much that they looked like they were having a _ton_ of fun. Why, such laughter had to mean they were going to be much more interesting than the Maildramon that carried him, but…oh, how he wished he could get out and join them.

Then suddenly he was, and then there was more chasing and fighting—especially fighting once the black lizard showed up. And then the explosion that propelled him into the air, far away, but still plenty close enough to watch in horror as the newly transformed MetalTyrannomon destroyed the Maildramon with frightening ease.

It was game over for him, and even though the Maildramon had been mean to him, it made him feel rather sad. He seemed to be greatly concerned about something. Something _big._

The force from the explosion continued to propel him through the air, past the bright light and toward a rippling blue sky with a glowing grid. The sky warped upon his approach and there was bright light again…and the next thing Calumon knew he was nearly crashing into a strange metal… _thing—_ the best way he could describe the helicopter—with rotating blades keeping it aloft in the air. He tumbled through the air, ears expanding and transforming into wings to rebalance him and keep him from falling. He heard the sound of horns honking and there was the _hot_ smell of sunlight baking metal and stone…and something else he had no name for. Having finally righted himself, he tilted his head to one side and tapped a paw upon his mouth questioningly as the helicopter moved away from him, oblivious to his presence, not something he was used to.

Quickly brushing it aside, not wanting to pay attention to something that obviously didn't care to do the same to him, he turned his attention to the vast expanse of city that lay below.

 _I hope the other digimon here aren't as rude as that one,_ he thought, his eyes glimmering a little with hope.

**###**

Within a small, dinosaur-like hut on a playground, a young, light-brown-haired boy wearing a blue hoody slapped a card with the image of a grey, cybernetic dinosaur on the floor, grinning triumphantly.

"Bulls-eye baby! DarkTyrannomon digivolves to MetalTyrannomon which makes _you_ history!"

Seated across from him with a card displaying an armored horse, a Maildramon, was a boy wearing a black shirt with a golden cross emblazoned on it. He clasped his hands around his hat, crying in dismay as he realized that he had just lost their game.

"Ohhh _man,_ that _hurt!_ That was like something _I_ would do! How did _you_ think of that?"

Smirking, the boy lifted a card from next to his MetalTyrannomon and slid it through the small card reader he held in his hand. Numbers whipped by on its screen as it scanned the microchips printed into its side and displayed the final score.

117.3184. More than enough to win their match

"What can I say?" he said haughtily. "You're dealing with a _super_ genius!"

The other boy snorted as he gathered up his things and quickly boxed them up. "Yeah, in your dreams doofus," he said before slipping down the side of the dinosaur hut and heading outside. "Takato!" he called out almost as soon as he landed. "Will you hurry it up? If we're late Ms. Kamiya's going to make us wait in the hall again!"

Takato's head poked out from the exit. "I'll be right there! Don't leave without me!"

Pulling himself back up, the red-eyed boy resumed packing his things, dumping his cards into his box. Unnoticed by him, the box, placed precariously on the edge of the hut's entrance, began to tip from the added weight and within short order spilled out, eliciting a cry of dismay as he realized too late to stop it from its inevitable date with gravity.

"Oh man…" he groaned watching helplessly as cards flew everywhere. While they floated down, one of them, a simple blue-embossed card with a yellow-dinosaur image reflecting upon its surface, caught his eye. Confused, he hopped down and picked it up from the pile.

"Wow," he said, turning it over thoughtfully in the sunlight. "I don't remember having a card like this."

Curious, he brought the card up to his card reader and slid it through, thinking that it would give him some kind of identification or at least a score number that he could cross reference in his memory. He was an avid fan of the digimon card game—had been ever since he got his first look at one of the artificial intelligence creatures known as digimon. To have a card that he _didn't_ remember, whether it was from his own collection or from the card index was… _odd_ to say the least.

The result from the card reader were, to put it lightly, unexpected as he found himself on the receiving end of a shower of electricity and blue sparks. Dropping the card reader, Takato quickly backed away, throwing his hands up to guard his face.

"What…was _that?!"_

He eyed the card reader warily, like a snake that might strike if he made so much as the wrong move, while on its screen numbers raced across it nonsensically as it continued to smoke and spark.

"Um… This is new," he said, watching the device continue its path of breaking down before he noticed that his friend had vacated the area.

"Oh great. My card reader goes mental _and_ I'm late for school again!"

Quickly sweeping everything back up, card reader included, he stashed them back into the box and tossed it into the dinosaur hut before snatching up his book bag.

"Thanks for _waiting_ , Kazu!" he exclaimed, running off.

**###**

Kari Kamiya heard the sigh from outside the door. Pausing in the middle of her lesson, she turned an eye toward the window where she saw a mop of brown hair.

"I heard that," she scolded sternly. "You know the rules. If you show up late, you'll have to wait."

"Who? Me?" came the reply, followed by a round of giggling. The mop hair shuddered a little at the sound and became more subdued. "I…I'm Sorry I'm late Ms. Kamiya."

Kari sighed despondently, returning to her lesson, only a bit more slowly. This class, as many classes did before, frustrated her, and every year it felt like it ate away at a piece of her sanity.

 _Headaches, Mori, constantly grading, and the fighting and not paying attention… It seemed so simple when I started._ She sighed and closed her eyes, resisting the urge to lean her head against the board. _I thought it would be anyway._

Her students however proved her wrong. Her rule for instance seemed so simple and easy to remember. It was designed to be easily memorable. Yet here was Takato, chronically late. He wasn't a bad student, and easily one of her best behaved ones, but he let himself be easily distracted by his fantasies.

She supposed she was in part to blame for that.

Unable to take the distraction in her thoughts anymore, she set the chalk down and headed out into the hallway where she found the boy, sure enough, doodling out a digimon on a small pad of paper.

"Yeah… Red is definitely a _power_ color," she heard him say with glee, causing her to shudder a little. The youth was so wrapped up in his dreams that it didn't take much for him to sink back into it even when reality was staring him right in the face.

"I'll give him the strongest attack ever! No one will expect that, especially from a Rookie! I'm going to make him even better than _Agumon._ I'll call it, _Pyro Sphere!"_

"Are you designing a Halloween costume?" Kari interrupted. Takato barely glanced up as he continued scribbling in colors.

"Hm? No, it's a digimon. Don't you know anything?"

Something clicked in Takato's brain no sooner than the words were out of his mouth. Kari rested a finger on her chin in an authoritative manner while she let him finish processing. True to form, Takato's mouth moved faster than his ability to think through his responses before replying.

"Well Takato," she continued. "Despite your apology, you certainly don't seem very sorry about being late, do you?"

He looked up, his eyes widening at having sealed his own figurative doom. Too late. He almost seemed to nervously laugh at himself for being so unbelievably clumsy with his words.

"Ah…yes?" In short order he was on his feet, hopping up and down like a rabbit and apologizing profusely. "I-I m-mean no ma'am. No, a-actually I do mean yes! I mean I-I'm sorry! I'm _really sorry!"_

Kari would have felt better about punishing him if it weren't for the fact that he really did mean to be sorry.

**###**

The school day was ending, and Takato remained sitting at his desk, writing his letter of apology to Ms. Kamiya. It remained unfinished, with eraser marks smudging its surface from numerous starts, stops, and rewrites of specific parts so as to not make his teacher think that he was merely sucking up to her in order to get out as quickly as possible.

Her place in history as one of the eight original Digidestined demanded that he give her the respect that she deserved.

He admired her. Her and her digimon partner, Gatomon, whom he saw from time to time. Her and the others…Matt, Joe, Mimi, Tai, Izzy, and Takeru. It felt so amazing to be in the presence of someone as famous as her. He heard all the stories—had committed them to memory—about the adventures of the original Digidestined. He couldn't imagine what that experience must have been like, to do something so amazing. To save the world and to have a partner that you could always trust to watch your back and have fun with… The battles. The light of digivolution as you realized the totality of the depth your friendship with your partner ran… Of course, it would never happen. Not to him anyway. Even without everything that happened since the War of Darkness, Takato felt that there was nothing particularly special about him that warranted his becoming a Digidestined, or even a 'Tamer'—the term used in the card game to distance itself from the events of the War and by some who dealt with those digimon who occasionally entered the real world. He was just a random boy who went to school and worked at his parent's bakery to help make ends meet.

Still, he could dream, even if it wasn't likely.

While he dreamed, his eyes sought out his sketch pad and the digimon that he dreamt up on its pages. Stats littered it, but the digimon as yet had no name.

_Now what should I call him? Red…Dino…Firemon._

_…No that's stupid._

_Blazing…Dragon…Lizardmon!_

That one didn't sound any better either. _Yeah, get real._ Lifting up his sketchpad he looked it over. A thought came to him. A smile bloomed onto his face.

"Hey… How about… _Guilmon?"_ He tasted the name and rolled it around in his head. _"Cool!_ Now that's a name!"

Suddenly an orange sock puppet was thrust in front of his face with a _ruff_ from its owner, startling Takato with a yelp.

"I'm…I'm almost done…" he spilled out, tripping over his words before hastily adding a _ma'am_ out of respect. "I'm just taking a timeout!"

Whatever he was expecting, it certainly wasn't the giggling Jeri Katou kneeling by his desk, peeking out from behind her puppet. "You're kinda funny!" she laughed as Takato looked at her, slightly confused.

"Um… You see…" he began as she left his desk and began to route through her desk. "I'm having a really off day."

"There it is!" Seemingly taking no notice of his excuse, Jeri pulled out her flute from her desk. "Bad flute! _Bad!"_ she scolded it with her sock puppet. Takato blinked, taken over by a sense of unreality at the girl's behavior. She had always been a touch odd, but there were some days where she seemed even…odder than normal.

"Oookay…" he said quietly as she left the room, now having gotten what she came for. As he watched, Jeri turned to the left of the door, and then her sock puppet popped back and started barking at him.

"Ruff! You'd better hurry up and write that _apologyyy!"_

With another giggle, the girl immediately began running down the stairs. After a moment, Takato blushed lightly and smiled.

Weird or not, it was rather cute when she talked with her puppet. Sometimes odd could be a good thing.

**###**

In a dark room, A woman with dark-red, almost purple hair—Yolei Inou—typed upon her control panel, her visor feeding her data from the screens surrounding her and her coworker. Below them, their superior, Takeru Takaishi, flicked the lid to his lighter open before snapping it closed. The screens displayed a number of expanding yellow rings.

"I'm picking up an abnormal germination energy pattern," Yolei said. Below, Takeru slowly flicked the lighter open, and then closed once more.

"Is it a Wild One?" he asked.

"I can't tell yet," Yolei replied. "But the levels are increasing at an exponential rate. I've never seen anything like it!"

**###**

Clouds gathered in the sky as Kari made her way down the hall of the school, her expression distant, yet thoughtful. Pushing open the door to the teacher's lounge, she allowed herself a small smile as she spied a familiar, white-furred, cat-like digimon with yellow gloves and a gold-ring balancing on the end of her tail, seated on the couch in the corner, calmly flipping through a magazine. Upon looking up, the cat's bored demeanor quickly changed to one of elation and she was on her feet, all smiles and purrs.

"Kari," she greeted, stretching and yawning. "You couldn't have come a little later? I was about to have another nap."

"Sorry Gatomon," Kari replied, seating herself down next to her partner. "Takato managed to finish his apology essay early, so I sent him home. If you'd like I can buy you some fish to make up for it."

Gatomon grinned devilishly. "Oh, you know me too well," she purred. "All right. I'll forgive you this time."

Holding out her bag, Kari pulled it open for the cat to climb into. Gatomon made a face, but there was little that could be done. Hate it though they did, they had to get by in this world. Upon Gatomon's taking up of the offered bag, Kari closed it up snugly—long practice from her elementary days—and soon left the room, just barely missing her fellow coworker, Mr. Mori, and more than grateful for it. He was another headache that she could do without.

Making her way down the stairs, she heard a steady beeping coming from her bag. With a squirm, Gatomon poked her head and a paw out, producing a small, oval-shaped device with a pink-colored handgrip with an antennae on the end. Its screen glowed slightly as it beeped over and over.

"Kari…" she began. Taking it from her partner, she looked at the screen worriedly, hitting the detect function.

Something was coming.

**###**

"Oh man… What else can go wrong?"

The wind blew as Takato made his way through the park, hand over his forehead to keep his hair from blowing in his face as he bee-lined toward the playground. Electricity danced from one manhole cover to another before landing on the dinosaur hut wherein his cards lay. Takato broke into a run, missing the clock on the hut as it suddenly spun forward two hours.

"I hope my card reader isn't busted…" he said, running into the hut and climbing up where he kept his cards. His jaw dropped open in amazement as he found his card box glowing, electricity sparking around it. Overtaken with awe, he crawled toward the box. His brain told him this was dangerous, that he needed to turn right around and rush home as quickly as possible before the storm hit.

His instincts took hold of him however, and commanded his hands to take up the box. The electricity, oddly enough, didn't hurt upon his touching it as he shook it open. Cards spilled all over the ground. Amidst all of them, crashed his card reader, glowing intensely. Almost as though it were waiting for his arrival, the card reader changed shape, becoming arc-shaped with a crimson ring in the center, surrounding a screen with a single button below it.

With the light dying down, Takato barely noticed the calming of the storm around him as he leaned in for a closer look.

"Hm? I'm…dreaming."

Reaching out, he touched the device. It was cool to the touch, but its reality caused him to recoil slightly before taking hold of it again. "Wait a minute. This is… _real!"_

A small smile briefly crept across his face as he lifted the device and turned it over.' "It's…impossible. I'm going nuts! I'm sitting inside of a dinosaur…with a digivice. Right?"

Curious, he touched the button, perusing the screen, only to be greeted by blinking red lettering: _No_ , followed by a pair of lightning bolts.

"Hey… It's empty."

A crash of thunder resounded upon the air, bringing the boy back to attention. Grabbing his things once more and piling them all back into the box, he dropped out of the dinosaur hut and took off at a run.

**###**

Kari arrived at the park, Gatomon peeking out of her bag, eyes scanning for danger. Bringing up her digivice, she reactivated the detect function. She narrowed her eyes.

 _Whatever it is that it was picking up before, it's gone now,_ she thought. She sighed and closed her eyes, half wondering why she was even here to begin with. _Old instincts die hard I guess._

"Kari?" Gatomon asked, her eyes tracing up to Kari's face questioningly. "What's wrong? You look like you just met up with Mr. Mori."

"It's nothing Gatomon," she replied with a shake of her head. "I think it was a false alarm."

_Either that, or Takeru took care of whatever it was…_

Feeling foolish for even coming out here in the first place, Kari turned and started for home once more.


	2. Episode 1: The Dream

Thunder cracked once more as the storm clouds continued to herald the oncoming torrent of rain they held within their dark, swollen depths. Seated atop a building was Calumon, his ears wide. Hearing the thunder and seeing the encroaching darkness, he lowered his head, his eyes becoming downcast.

"Ohhh…" he whimpered, his ears retracting into his head. "For a place with so many people, how come there's no one to play with? Huh?"

No more answer came to him save for another rumbling of thunder, quieter this time, as if the storms sympathized with the tiny digimon's predicament.

**###**

Takato raced down the packed streets of his home street—the business end of Shinjuku, Tokyo. The light was fading fast and he had to get in quickly, lest his mother and mistress of the house give him a talking to about how late he was… _again._ Mie Matsuki had this much in common with Takato's teacher, Kari Kamiya, though fortunately considerable time had passed since the last time a parent-teacher conference had been held to discuss the 'young man's' behavior. In spite of his slipups, he was dedicated to making sure that he didn't worry his parents. Especially his mother. His father—Takehiro—was considerably more laid back and allowed Takato his slips, though this led to accusations that this was precisely where Takato got his problems from.

So to keep the peace, he ran in spite of his burning lungs. Rushing past the main entrance of his family bakery and home, a woman exited, stopping abruptly to avoid bumping into him.

"Hey Mrs. Maseba!" he greeted with a quick wave, earning him a slight, but amused scowl from her.

"Takato, slow down!" he heard her scold as he ducked down the alley and let himself in through the side door. Takato's face made a small, apologetic smile upon entry before suddenly giving a loud, _"whoops!"_ skating on the floor and nearly missing his route to the upstairs apartment through the kitchen. Immediately correcting himself he raced past his father, who was working on the next batch of bread dough.

"Hi Dad, I'm home!" he said quickly, brushing past him without so much as a glance or hug. Takehiro turned up toward him in surprise, having not noticed him come in.

"Uh… Hi son! What'd you learn in…"

"Oh, you know, the usual," Takato cut over him, stopping in front of the stairs and kicking off his shoes without even bothering to untie them. "Two plus two equals four. Well, I got a lot of homework. Call me when dinner's ready!"

With that, he was running upstairs as his mother entered the kitchen, looking annoyed at his abrupt entrance and departure.

"Takato!" she exclaimed before continuing in a lower tone, "Thanks a lot."

Takehiro stood at the bottom of the stairs, confused at both the boy's behavior and Mie's sudden irritation.

"What's up?" he asked as they watched Takato's feet disappear up the last stair.

Sighing, Mie leaned back. "Oh nothing. In some families kids actually give their mothers a hug when they come home from school."

"Hm?" Takehiro looked no less confused as she turned to go back to her work.

**###**

Takato's book bag landed haphazardly on the top of his desk, but he barely noticed as he immediately set about tearing open his card box and dumping his collection all over the floor. The odd device landed with its screen facing, making odd, clicking noises while still displaying its empty sign. Half paying attention, he wondered if it was unhappy with its situation—its emptiness, but he quickly brushed the odd thought aside as he routed through his card collection. After half a minute of searching, his brow knotted up in frustration.

"Where's that blue card? It's gone!" Pulling away, he finally glanced over at the digivice. It still clicked away, a slow, mechanical sound, like the old computers that he saw once in class when discussing the impact that the Internet had on the world and how it led to the creation of the digital plain of existence.

_What was that blue card?_ he wondered. _I know I didn't have one before, I'm sure of it. I don't think anyone does. In the real world, games don't change shape on their own._ He thought back to the dinosaur-like symbol that he saw briefly. Now that he thought of it, there had also been a 'D' symbol next to it.

As in 'D' for Digimon? He thought back to when he slashed it through his card reader, and how the device had changed since then.

"That's got to be it!" he exclaimed excitedly. "That blue card made it transform! It's not from this world!"

Taking up the digivice, he looked at the screen, still blinking at him its _empty_ sign.

"So if I'm right…" His heart was hammering in his chest now, making him tremble in excitement. All the stories that he heard; every scrap of information that he had ever since becoming a fan of digimon… It was all starting to add up. There was only one possible explanation for all of this. "…then I'm…"

Lightning flashed, followed by a crash of thunder, interrupting him just as he was about to say the legendary title.

_Digidestined._

Takato looked up, startled by the storm. His eyes fell upon the eerily glowing twin towers of the Shinjuku Government building, easily visible from his bedroom's window. Another flash of lightning, this time striking the towers. It seemed oddly free of clouds, as though it were the central hub of the entire storm. He shuddered at the sight. In the past he had been afraid of its red glow, but as he grew older that fear vanished. Now, with the digivice and the storm, that old terror almost reasserted itself like the fragment of a nightmare half-remembered. He approached his window, transfixed by the sight for a moment before tearing his eyes away and returning them to the digivice. It held his attention and his old fears vanished, as if it alone were enough to dispel the darkness.

"Well if I am right," he continued. "Then this thing is a _real digivice!"_

The _empty_ sign glowed at him, almost demanding that he do something. He took note of the slot running along its side, akin to the card reader. It looked wide enough for a card.

Could he…?

Wasting no time, he dug into his pants pocket and pulled out his small notepad, flipping it open to the drawing of his ideal digimon from the day. Behind it was everything needed to make him. Stats, size, weight…

"Which would make _me…"_ he continued, his voice growing louder in excitement as the rain began to fall outside. He fitted the notepad against the slot and began to draw it along the slot…

Stuck.

Takato blinked.

No sparks as before. Not even the familiar resistance that came with a card fitting into the slot. The notepad jammed against the slot. His eyes welling up anxiously, he attempted to withdraw the notepad, only for it to refuse to budge.

Stuck.

"Oh. Ohhh…it's _stuck!_ Don't tell me I broke it already!"

Failure. Accident-prone. Clumsy. These were frustrations he was well acquainted with. Takato would never be described as someone who failed or caused messes in a spectacular fashion nor did it occur as often as his friends joked it did, but it seemed this sort of thing happened often enough where he saw himself as messing up at some point down the road due to not thinking things through properly. _Look before you leap,_ his mother always used to tell him, yet he never quite got the hang of it. Now, here he was, having messed up again. A Digidestined that could not save the world because he jammed it with wads of paper.

_"Takato!"_ he heard his mother call. _"Come down! Dinner's ready!"_

"Okay!" he called back. Disappointed, he set the digivice down on his desk, deciding to deal with it later. What an ignoble start to his journey. He wondered if Ms. Kamiya or any of the other Digidestined had such problems when they became Digidestined.

_"Before it gets cold please!"_ Mie continued to call out before Takato had even left the desk. Suddenly, the digivice's screen turned red and lightning sparked out like fingers, grabbing hold of the pad. The picture of Guilmon was _pulled_ into the slot, tearing off the pad and run through. The next batch of pages soon followed, scanning each and every one of them.

"Coming Mom," Takato said in exasperation, opening the door. Hearing the sudden, excited sounds of crackling energy behind him, he turned in confusion to find the pages fluttering to the floor, the screen turning dark. Confused as to what just happened, he returned to the digivice and lifted it up, just in time to watch the screen blink back to life, displaying an egg with red spots on it, pulsating like a heartbeat.

Takato stared in amazement. Did he dare hope?

"A…digi-egg!"

A smile broke across his face.

"My very own, real, live _digi-egg!"_

_"Ta-Kato!"_ his mother called again with increasing annoyance by his absence.

**###**

The rain continued to pour down throughout the night, a calm, gentle shower that stood in contrast to its earlier thunderous mood. The streets had gone quiet, many of Shinjuku's citizenry opting to vacate for the light and warmth of home and hearth. The Matsuki bakery, now bereft of the late night customers, had closed down early and its owners had hit the bed. Takato did likewise. He _wanted_ to stay awake, feeling that he would be too excited to go to sleep, but the excitement the day brought had dragged him into a deep sleep and now he lay there, his sheets askew and he himself sprawled beneath them, feet exposed to the cool air. Nonetheless, he kept a tight grip on his digivice while the egg on the screen continued to pulsate.

"Guilmon…" he muttered, a happy, innocent smile on his face, feeling at long last fulfilled. Already his digimon felt like a natural part of him; an extension of his being. "Digi… Armor… Energize…"

Those words. The words the original Digidestined had used for digivolution during one of their many conflicts. They sparked something in him. His imagination took hold of those words, spinning the webs of the story that were rapidly forming in his mind.

"Guilmon…"

He was a Digidestined… A protector of two worlds. The latest, standing amidst giants. He hoped that he wouldn't disappoint his predecessors.

He heard a sudden, animalistic shriek just then—it sounded like Guilmon, or rather how he imagined him to sound when he roared—and his eyes flickered open. Only, instead of finding himself in his bed, he found himself floating in midair, glowing with a white light, with the rain pelting down on him. Mist billowed outward from below, but already he could see it clearing as inside it he saw two figures come into view.

The first was a girl with red-hair done up in a ponytail. She wore a long trench coat, its ends flapping in the wind.

_What's happening?!_ he exclaimed, though his mouth didn't move.

Watching, he saw her reach up and remove a pair of sunglasses from her face, and she cleared her throat. Staring her down was a large, cat-like creature, its entire body blazing with fire. Takato recognized it as a Lynxmon.

The girl didn't seem to be the least bit fazed by the digimon, an instead she turned to the right, announcing calmly, "It's Lynxmon versus Renamon."

No sooner were the words out of her mouth did a yellow, fox-like creature with purple armguards appear behind her in a kneeling position.

_Renamon…_ Takato thought in awe at the sight.

Standing up, Renamon took a step toward the other digimon, only for it to plow right into her, pinning her to the ground and narrowly missing the girl. Again the girl didn't seem surprised or upset by what was going on. Instead she calmly turned around and pulled out a card…and a digivice that Takato recognized as being just like his own, save for a difference in color in the ring surrounding the screen—blue instead of red.

"Renamon…" The girl gave a little stylish spin to the card in her hand. "Digi-modify."

_A digimon Tamer…!_ Takato said. It was a term from the card game, but it was originally introduced some years back. From where he couldn't remember though.

"Speed activate!" the girl called, slashing the card through her digivice's slot. Takato's eyes went over to the two combating digimon. At once, the Renamon's form blurred and, after quickly freeing itself, leapt up into the air directly behind it…and in front of Takato. For a second, Takato's eyes met that of the Renamon's, and it seemed that it… _noticed_ him. Whether it did or not, he couldn't be sure, as it soon closed its eyes and began to concentrate. A ball of light formed in front of it and it slashed its arms outward. The ball exploded into dozens of shards of white light, spreading outward before beginning to rapidly descend upon the Lynxmon, still confused as to where its adversary disappeared to.

_"Diamond Storm!"_ the Renamon called out in a female voice. The shards of light slammed into the Lynxmon's body, causing it to howl in pain as its body disintegrated into thousands of digital particles. Upon landing, the Renamon stood up and began to levitate, drawing the particles into herself…and in the next moment, Takato found himself alone, in his bed, with daylight and the sound of chirping birds coming from outside his window. He lay there for a second, gasping for air. His face was wet, as was the hand that held his digivice.

After a moment, he took in his surroundings, blinking in confusion.

_Was that real?_ he wondered. _It felt real…_

He turned toward his digivice, relaxing upon seeing it. The egg continued to pulse. _That_ much at least was real.

"Haaa…" he breathed in relief. "I'm alive. Good game."

**###**

Davis Motomiya yawned loudly, running a hand through the tangled mess of his hair, bumping up against a small, blue-colored creature with stubby legs, wide-eyes on a pale face, and long, tail-like ears.

"Damn it, DemiVeemon, I told you not to let me stay up so late…"

"Sorry Davis," the blue digimon said from his spot atop Davis' head. "But you looked like you were having such a good time talking to Catherine, so I thought it would be okay. Besides, you told me not to interrupt meetings unless it's an emergency."

"I'm pretty sure sleep counts as an emergency," Davis groaned, trying to shake the sleep out of his eyes and barely succeeding. "Man, Ken is going to think that this partnership thing is a bad idea if I show up like this."

"But aren't you and Ken already partners?"

"Being DNA Digivolving partners doesn't count, DemiVeemon." Davis resisted the urge to sigh. No matter how much he tried, he felt that he was in trouble. It took him _years_ to convince Ken to let him partner with his detective agency—helped by his highly successful ramen noodle business, _Noodle, Noodle, Come Get Your Noodle,_ that put him on the cover of Time Magazine —and here he was on his first day on the job looking and acting as though he were a teen all over again.

_Maybe Yolei's right. I'm getting' too old for this. I can feel it in my bones._

He resisted the urge to massage his leg, where he could still feel the ache from an old injury throbbing. It did not like last night's storm one bit, and in the humidity of its aftermath, it continued to complain, though fortunately not as strongly. Even so, it only served as a reminder of his age.

_No. I've got to get back into this. I told Kari that I'd find Tai again even if it took me an entire lifetime. It's just…taken me a while, that's all. Man, sometimes I wish I was as smart as guys like Izzy and Ken. At least that way I'd feel like I was doing something other than giving the smart guys money._

Davis was not used to sitting around and doing nothing. For as long as he could remember, acting was just something he did. To have an obstacle he could not break through or fight…made him feel helpless. Just as it did all those years ago when the Dark Ocean first snatched up Kari. He had been so out of his depth then, understanding so little. He knew more now, but that knowledge and the hard-earned experience that preceded it failed him since the war ended.

He wasn't Izzy. He wasn't Ken. Not TK (he unconsciously ground his teeth at the name). Not Yolei either. He…

_Speaking of Yolei…_

Davis' eyebrows rose as he saw the woman in question emerge from the bakery he was approaching, carrying a bag. He almost hesitated, but in the end he called out to her.

"Hey, Yolei," he grinned, approaching her. "How's it hanging?"

Yolei turned her brown-eyes toward him and she cocked an eyebrow at him in return.

"Hey, Davis," she replied. "Don't you have somewhere you have to be now?"

"I've got some time still," he said confidently. On his head, DemiVeemon looked down at him with raised eyebrows.

"I don't remember you saying that about a minute ago…"

"I thought you had my back, DemiVeemon…"

Yolei chuckled and shook her head. "I'd love to stay and chat, Davis, but I've got work to get to and you need to hurry up and get to yours as well." Davis opened his mouth to protest, but it quickly died as he remembered the time. "Takeru gets mad at me whenever I show up late," she continued. "Say hi to Ken for me when you see him. Oh, and be sure to remind him that it's _his_ turn tonight to do the dishes."

"Again?" Davis was not surprised by this, but amazed that the man who was so much smarter than he was could be so much denser when it came to the subject of house chores.

"Again," Yolei nodded, and with that she departed. Davis watched her go for a moment, struck not for the first time about how much she had changed since they first met all those years ago. Gone were the oversized glasses, replaced with contacts, and her demeanor was much more controlled and refined, though no less brimming with the old confidence that now more than matched her physical beauty.

In a lot of ways, Davis felt that she continued to move forward while he had stayed stuck in place, successful business or not.

"Hey, Dad?" he heard a boy say from the alley next to the bakery. Craning his head in its direction, he spotted the boy from up near a small balcony overseeing the alley, where below a man was cleaning some containers. "When you were my age, did you meet any digimon? I mean, you had them around a lot more then, right?"

_Yeah, we had them around a lot more,_ Davis thought, turning away from the pair. _I could tell you all kinds of stories._

"Are you okay, Davis?" DemiVeemon asked. "You seem kinda weird."

_I'm feeling like an old geezer,_ he wanted to say, but the buzzing of his cell phone prevented him from doing just that. Pulling it out, he flipped it open, already knowing who was calling without even having to look.

"I'm on my way, Ken, don't worry. I'll be there…"

_"Don't worry Davis. There's been a change of plans,"_ Ken interrupted with a wry chuckle. _"I need you to meet me at the following address. There's been a bio-emergence."_


	3. Episode 1: Evidence

Calumon, half-hidden behind a sign and unnoticed by the populace as they went about their day, watched the world go by with wide eyes.

"Ohhh…" he said, tapping a paw against his chin as he watched, once more, as people exited cars and buses almost as soon as they entered them. "I wonder why those funny metal digimon keep spitting up all these people." He pondered the thought for a moment longer. "They must be really good fighters. Or either that, or this is the worst case of indigestion I've _ever_ seen!"

The world continued on, taking no notice of the diminutive digimon.

**###**

Davis and DemiVeemon made it to the location Ken gave them in record time, albeit with Davis panting a little upon arrival. Wiping an arm across his brow, the mean heaved a heavy sigh.

_Man, I am so out of shape,_ he thought.

"You are so out of shape Davis," DemiVeemon said from atop the man's head, unknowingly voicing his thoughts and causing an eyebrow to twitch in irritation.

"Thanks for noticing, DemiVeemon," he replied, annoyed. "What was your first clue?"

DemiVeemon tapped his chin thoughtfully with a single, fingerless paw for a moment before replying.

"The heavy breathing, the sweating, the way your hair gets all slick and greasy when you…"

"I get it!" Davis interrupted. "I'll get back on the treadmills and pump some iron more. Jeez…"

_I shouldn't have stopped doing that in the first place,_ he berated himself, thinking of how he let himself go once he sat himself behind a desk in his company. He wasn't in bad shape, but to let himself go so much that he would be winded just from getting here? He wondered once more if this was even a good idea at all. Unconsciously, he brought a hand to his stomach and rested it there. He wasn't fat really. Certainly his stomach wasn't poking over his waistband, distending like a sack of potatoes. He was chunkier of course; the kind of weight that came with age. He 'filled out'. His doctor assured him he was healthy, but it made him worry. It was becoming harder to be fit, and since his business took off, it became even harder.

Things were just not the same as they were fifteen years ago when his adventures started.

"Wow, someone left one heck of a skid mark," DemiVeemon observed.

"What do you mean?" Davis asked, turning his eyes up at his partner. Pointing with his tiny stump of an arm, Davis followed and found a series of scorch marks darkening the pavement ahead of him, cordoned off by yellow police tape. Surrounding the scene were numerous black-suited men and women, directing people around the tape. Among them was a familiar, stern face wearing dark sunglasses and a thick mop of dirty-blond hair.

_TK…_

No… _Not_ TK. _Takeru Takashi._ The man abandoned his childhood name years ago, and was now so different from before that they might as well be two completely different people.

As Davis watched, Takeru looked up and for a moment, he swore that their eyes met.

Ken's hand fell on Davis' shoulder, catching him by surprise and causing him to yelp slightly.

"Sorry about that," Ken smiled. "I didn't mean to catch you off guard like that."

"Catch _me_ off guard?" Davis smirked, covering himself with bravado. "What're you talking about? I heard you coming a mile away. I just…"

"…got distracted?" Ken finished, indicating Takeru with a nod. Davis' face heated up slightly in embarrassment. Since becoming partners in their DNA fusion, Ken was always able to see through Davis and vice versa. So he nodded.

"What's he doing here?"

"His job," Ken replied simply, releasing his hold on his friend and folding his arms over his chest. Davis took a moment to note that the man was sporting a long, brown coat.

_Wonder if I should get one so we match,_ he thought, admiring it.

"You said there was a whatchamacallit?" Davis asked.

"A bio-emergence," Ken clarified. "A wild digimon emerged here and there was a bit of a fight. It seems that it got away though. Or was killed." His expression hardened at that, and Davis quickly gleaned what was on his mind.

"You think it has anything to do with the ice digimon that the news has been talking about lately?"

"That's what we're here to find out," he said, moving in Takashi's direction. Davis quickly followed suit.

"Davis," DemiVeemon said from atop the man's head. "You're shaking."

"I'm okay, DemiVeemon," he replied, though he unclenched his fists. He hadn't realized that he had made them in the first place. "Just tired from getting here."

"Uh… Yeah. Sure. If you say so, Davis."

The man could feel his partner's stare, but he ignored it.

"Ken Ichijouji," Takashi greeted, without looking up from the digital reader in his hand. "And Davis Motomiya. I'm not surprised to see you here, Ken, but…" He glanced up at Davis, his expression stern, but otherwise unreadable.

"I'm a Digidestined, Takashi," Davis said, his tone harsh. "Or did you forget that?"

He caught a look from Ken from out of the corner of his eye.

"He's here as an observer," Ken interceded. "I called him because I wanted him to be here. I know that we can't exactly bury the past, but can we at least be civil?" He glanced back at Davis, who shrugged, trying not to look as bitter and angry as possible.

"As long as Motomiya understands that his title as Digidestined has no pull here," Takashi nodded. Davis felt a hand pull itself into a tight fist again, but the presence of Ken and DemiVeemon prevented him from putting his fist through the man's face. Takeru held his gaze before continuing. "This is a federal investigation after all."

"He'll be fine," Ken continued. "What happened here?"

"A low level bio-emergence, as I'm sure you already know. Nothing to be concerned about."

"I registered it as at least Champion level. That's hardly 'low level', Takeru. That's bigger than usual."

Takeru waved him off dismissively. "In either case, the digimon was deleted as soon as it arrived and is not your concern. If you're looking for more clues regarding your 'ice digimon', I'm afraid you won't find them here. The digital residue doesn't match."

"Digital residue?" Davis asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Digimon leave behind certain types of data when they use their attacks," clarified Ken. "Think of it like a fingerprint, Davis." Returning his attention to Takeru, Ken continued, "But the digimon was still destroyed. That makes it a capital one murder that could potentially disrupt the balance between the real and digital worlds. And it happened in _our_ world. That's not something my agency can just shrug off."

"It's a federal matter now, like I said," Takeru replied coolly. "We report to the Sovereigns of the digital world should it become necessary. If there's a problem, Hypnos will take care of it."

"You know, Takashi," spoke up Davis. "There was _once_ a time we would have all taken care of it. Together. Like a team. Remember when we were a team?"

"Davis!" hissed Ken, his temper starting to flare at his friend. Takeru however regarded Davis as casually as if he had simply said a hello.

"We were a team once, Davis," he said simply, his face betraying nothing. "But that was then. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have work to do." He turned toward Ken. "As do you."

Ken sighed, nodding in surrender. They clearly weren't going to get anything more out of him. "Let's go Davis."

"Ken, we can't just…"

_"Now,_ Davis!"

The man blinked, taken aback by the terse tone his friend gave him. That wasn't like him. For a second, he almost reminded him of when he was the Digimon Emperor.

Acceding to his friend, Davis turned and the pair headed off together. Davis cast one final look over his shoulder to see him putting his attention back to the scene, the two of them no longer on his mind now that they were out of sight.

"Man… Can't believe that I actually have a real reason to not like the guy…" he grumbled to himself.

"Forget about it Davis," Ken said. "If you're going to work with my agency, you're going to have to deal with him. It'll be a good idea if you keep your anger toward him under control."

"Yeah, I get that," Davis agreed. "It's just… I used to be so jealous of him. He wanted to be a writer before the war began, and…well… Now look at him. Dude's about as cold as a Frigimon's Subzero Ice Punch."

"The war changed us all, Davis. You know that." He smiled faintly. "Well, except for you. _You_ haven't changed."

"Except he's gotten out of shape," laughed DemiVeemon from Davis' head. Giving a dry chuckle, the man reached up and tapped his partner on the head.

"I could make _you_ out of shape right now if you want…"

"Let's not have another repeat of that time you dressed up like me from when I was the emperor just to impress women," Ken said, his smile both one of amusement and a wince. "I remember that not working out too well for either you or DemiVeemon."

"Yeah…" Davis laughed, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment over his past antics. "So, what do we do now? Old TP back there seems like a dead end."

"Not everything is a dead end…" Ken said as he turned down an alley, causing Davis to raise an eyebrow at him. Looking up, the dark-haired man smiled mysteriously. "Wormmon?"

_"Silk Thread!"_

Just like that, a small, worm-like, green creature with eight legs swung down on a web-line, plopping down on Ken's shoulder. Davis grinned and quickly joined them.

"You sent him to do a little espionage? That's awesome! But…how'd you manage it without being seen? Takeru has eyes like a hawk."

"That's part of the reason why I asked you along," Ken said, patting Wormmon on the head. "I know he's hard to read, but you being there actually _did_ rattle him a little."

"Harsh, dude," Davis smiled. "Smart as hell, but harsh."

"Did you have any trouble with the other agents?" Ken asked.

"No trouble at all," Wormmon said, raising a claw and handing over a single digimon card held at its tip by digital attraction.

"A digimon game card?" Davis scoffed. "There's like, a billion of those things in the city. Call me stupid, but how's that supposed to help in an investigation?"

"It's simple, really," Ken replied. "Wormmon?"

The insect cleared his throat. "We've been finding these cards at some of the locations where bio-emergences occurred."

"And according to my wife," Ken continued, his eyes shining, "Takashi is taking a keen interest in them."

**###**

"But it's true! You've _gotta_ believe me!" Takato insisted to his two friends, Kazu and Kenta, as they convened in their dinosaur hut hangout. For what felt like the hundredth time he explained what had happened last night in his dream. "Guys, I'm not kidding! Digimon were right there in front of me! I saw them! They were fighting right in front of me! Two of them were going after each other, it was _incredible!_ It was raining and…"

Kazu, who had only half been listening to the story ever since Takato called him up, insisting he arrive at the park, finally decided that he had heard enough and planted a hand over the boy's mouth.

"And then your eyes opened and you were back in bed like nothing had ever happened. I know. We heard."

Kenta, who was more confused than annoyed, leaned forward. "You saw them? Fighting on the bed?"

Kazu gave Kenta a _"Are you stupid?"_ look. "Hey, doofus. He just said that it was all just a dream."

"Hey!" Kenta whined, adjusting his glasses. "I'm just trying to make sense of what he's saying."

"As if anything he's saying is making any sense. He's probably just making it all up..."

_"Nooo!"_ Growling in frustration, Takato grabbed hold of Kazu's hand and yanked it off his face. "I am _not_ making it up! I showed you my digivice! It's got a digi-egg egg and everything! Listen! This was not a dream! I'm not making it up!" Raising the hand that held his digivice, his voice took on a slight chill as he remembered last night's events. The rain pouring down on him, the growling Lynxmon, the way the Renamon appeared to have noticed him… "Numb… My hands. They were numb from the rain… It was so cold…"

Kazu suddenly burst out laughing and pointed at him accusingly. "Hey! Maybe you made your own cold puddle!"

At that, Takato's head snapped up, eyes bulging in their sockets. _"What?!"_

Now Kenta was joining in with Kazu as the boy barely suppressed his guffaws. "That's some dream."

"More like a bed-wetting nightmare!" Kazu laughed, making no attempt to hide his laughter.

Takato's face flushed bright red. "I did _not_ wet the bed!" he exclaimed angrily as his friends, seeing their cue, grabbed their things and dropped out of the hut. Taking off at a run, they threw a few more barbs at him for good measure.

"Maybe he froze his hands wiping his baby-tears!"

"Hey!"

"Poor mister sleepy head! Made his own water bed!"

Takato shouted at his friends as they ran off, but to no avail. They were off and no longer interested in listening. Throwing up his mental hands in frustration, he pulled himself back up into the hut and leaned against the wall, folding his hands behind his head. He guessed that he shouldn't have expected them to believe him right out of the gate, digivice notwithstanding. Most of the digimon partners, with some exceptions, had been forced to return to the digital world. With the gates closed, it was nearly impossible for digimon to enter the real world and form partnerships. Becoming a Digidestined was simply something that didn't happen anymore. It hadn't for the last ten years. He looked at his digivice and scowled. Of course Kazu wouldn't believe him. Not even on the chance that it was real. He knew full well that Kazu had a bit of a jealous streak to him. Being a better card player and knowing almost as much, if not more, about digimon than anyone he knew at school, Kazu most certainly felt that if anyone were to become a Digidestined, it would be him and _not_ someone like Takato. Although he didn't say it out loud, he already passed Takato's digivice off as some kind of fancy toy. It wasn't unreasonable, as such toys did exist, but there had never been a toy like this one.

And Kenta? Kenta usually did as Kazu did. The two were best friends, practically one mind and thought and as inseparable as peanut butter and bananas.

Still…

"It was real," Takato said to himself quietly. "I saw them. And _her."_ He remembered that flash of red hair as she spun a card in her hand. "Who was that girl?" He smiled at the memory. She had been so confident… So strong. The Lynxmon didn't even faze her even though the danger to her was very real. He couldn't even begin to describe how impressive she had looked. It was like she made the battle an art-form. "What a Tamer!"

Tamer… There was that word again. A term from the card game. He rolled it around in his mind. Maybe…maybe it would be better to use that instead of Digidestined. After all, Takato wasn't sure _what_ was going on or if he was actually destined for anything involving the digital world. Sure, he had a digivice, but…

"Wait a sec… Her digivice…" Grabbing his own, he compared it to the one he saw in his dream. "It's the same. Mine is…exactly the same."

It was then that he noticed his digivice was beeping, and that the screen was now showing a broken digi-egg. "Huh? My digi-egg's hatched. Aw man, I missed it." He sighed and pressed the digivice's center button. "Good thing I can't keep any real pets, I can't keep track of a digital one."

He flipped through the screens, trying to find his digimon.

"But where could he be? I've got to find him!"

On the next try, a rotating digital ring appeared on the screen, a red arrow swinging wildly in its center as it continued to beep.

"Whoa! Is that a…compass?"

The arrow rotated once more and then drew to a halt pointing ahead of him, out through the small portal in the hut.

"Why'd it stop?" he wondered before peering outside at the twin towers dominating the skyline.

**###**

Takeru flicked his lighter open and closed as he reentered Hypnos' main control room. Above him, Yolei and her partner Talley swiveled around in their chairs, taking only a moment to see that it was him before returning to their work. He wondered if he should have a _chat_ with Inoue about her husband butting in on federal affairs. While he did good work with his digital detective agency, it was well past time that he was dealt with.

Especially now if he began associating his work with Davis. The loose cannon that was Motomiya was impossible to predict. The man simply did not know his limits very well unless it stared him right in the face, and even then he might refuse to see it just out of principle. If he intended to throw himself back into things and pretend being a Digidestined still somehow _mattered…_

He was brought out of his contemplations by a red light springing to life on the screens surrounding the room and immediately began moving.

"High level wild type," said Yolei, typing away furiously on her control panel. "Bio-emergence is now imminent."

"Primary tracer activated," added Tally from behind her partner as their chairs swiveled around. "Shall I stop him?"

Takeru flicked his lighter open and then closed once more as a thought occurred to him. Maybe he could use this.

"Not just yet," he said, a small smile drawing across his lips. "Keep the tracer locked, I'm interested in seeing what this one does."

"Affirmative," Tally said, typing in the commands. "Locking now."

**###**

Drawing a string through his digivice's loop hole, Takato placed it around his neck. Packing up his things, he dropped down out of the hangout and looked at the compass.

"This way," he said. Turning to the right he took off at a run. He grinned to himself as he thought of the looks on Kazu and Kenta's faces as he would finally show them proof that they could absolutely _not_ deny. "I'll show them! I'll show everybody! Digimon are coming back!"


	4. Episode 1: Reality

Contrary to popular belief, the side of the moon facing away from the Earth did receive sunlight. It was not 'dark' at all times, but rather a victim of being tidally locked to its parent world. Now, as before whenever a human probe or manned vessel made an approach this close, the side most hidden revealed itself in all its scarred, pocked glory. For Matt, seeing such an unfamiliar face on the world's surface felt alien and a bit unsettling. It reminded him of when he and Sora began to date, and the two of them learned things about the other that they had never dared share with even their closest friends. As he learned then, even the strangeness of the unfamiliar and mysterious held beauty. Frightening at times, but beautiful in its scope.

As he continued to watch outside the porthole, an arc of lightning raced along the void between their spacecraft and the moon. Behind him, instruments _pinged_.

"There's another one," Izzy said. "Looks like Shibumi's predictions were correct. The digital world has expanded well beyond Earth's communication network. It's _evolved_ and added layers by expanding into the Interplanetary Magnetic Field. This must be the layer that lies behind the one we're familiar with." He frowned slightly, which Matt recognized as what Mimi described as his 'computer dark mode'. "Most curious. I didn't believe that the digital world would be capable of doing so without additional network devices."

Matt grinned. "Well, we have a lot of satellites exploring the solar system. Maybe the digital world hitched a ride on one of them when it left for the outer planets."

"I'm afraid not," Izzy shook his head. "It would require numerous data exchange between all the satellites in order to work. At least under the current hypothesis'…" He drew a thumb under his chin, rubbing it thoughtfully. "Unless…the digital world has evolved to the point where it doesn't require a digital network to lay the foundations for new layers."

"Or perhaps it's because the digital world first evolved in a similar environment, like Earth's electromagnetic field," suggested Gabumon, floating into the cockpit from the landing section of the ship. Both Matt and Izzy looked up at the wolf digimon in surprise, who returned their bafflement. "I listen to Sora's father when he stops by for family gatherings," he clarified.

"More like he feeds you so you have no choice to listen," Matt joked, crossing his arms together. He had heard the man's ideas too from time to time. He couldn't say that he actually held any interest in them, but every now and then something caught his attention. The idea that digimon were descended from ancient, spirit-like entities was making its rounds in the academic circles, leading to increased interest in religious studies to see what kind of spiritual fossils could be unearthed, if any were to be had.

"I'll have to look into that," Izzy said. "I wonder if…"

Suddenly the ship rocked as an electrical surge leapt away from the stream and struck them. Matt had barely a second to react before the hull smacked into him, knocking him toward Izzy. Grabbing hold of his chair, Matt managed to stabilize himself and quickly anchored himself in his seat.

"Tentomon!" Izzy said, flicking on a computer screen. "What happened?"

The image of a familiar, insect-like face with a purple-red colored carapace with large, bulbous, green eyes appeared on the screen. Static distorted Tentomon's face, but he remained visible and came through loud and clear.

_"Running system diagnostics and sensors now, Izzy. It looks like we were just struck by some of that lightning from outside. I'm not detecting any internal damage but there seems to be…"_ Tentomon paused. _"Uh… Izzy? I think we may have a problem. You're about to have a bio-emergence."_

"A _what?!"_ Matt exclaimed right before a dense fog suddenly burst forth from the landing section of the ship. The ship shuddered from the blast and an alarm sounded. Matt braced himself, expecting all the oxygen to be vented out into the void, with them following in short order. He had seen bio-emergences back on Earth. In the absence of a digital portal, digimon had no alternative but to enter into the real world by brute force, often wrecking havoc to their surroundings in the process. During the war, the forces of Darkness used them as a means to both damage and surprise their enemies before getting down to business, something particularly powerful digimon did gleefully.

There were, fortunately, limitations to this method of dimension traveling. Digimon were extremely vulnerable and unstable. The more powerful and higher up in level they were, the worse it was for them as they had to download their entire existence into a world not set up for them.

Satisfied that they weren't about to be gasping on vacuum, Matt launched himself downward and into the dense fog. "Gabumon!" he shouted, pulling out his digivice reflexively as he grabbed a handhold and began to direct himself into the lander.

"Coming Matt," Gabumon called back as he quickly managed to catch up to his partner. "But I don't think I can digivolve here. It's too small!"

Matt bit back a curse. Whatever it was that broke through, he hoped it was small. The lack of damage to their ship seemed to indicate as much but one could never be too sure. _This is bad… This is_ very _bad…_

Upon entering the lander, Matt took a quick look around them. The mist wasn't thinning out just yet due to the confines of the vessel it was trapped in, but the ventilation system was quickly taking care of that. Already he could see two figures appearing in the center of the ship. Matt grated his teeth, realizing that the _very_ first action he should have done was seal off the lander and eject it. This was no place for battle. He didn't think. Only acted, like Tai did, and now they would likely all die because of his shortsightedness…

"Gabumon…" he began, preparing to order him back into the other vessel, only for the digimon to raise a claw to silence him as he sniffed the air, his eyes widening in surprise.

"Matt… I…I don't believe it…"

"What is it, Gabumon?"

"It's…It's _them!"_

The mist finally began to clear, and Matt looked up to find the battered forms of Tai Yagami and his orange-scaled, dinosaur of a partner, Agumon, floating in the middle of their vessel, looking around them with utter confusion as to where they were.

**###**

Takato followed the signal throughout the city, taking note of the odd electrical spark and the television display that would flake out and dissolve into static as he went, as if laying down the path for him to follow. He remembered this from the online forums he would visit at school. Whenever digimon were close between the dimensions or were about to enter the real world, electrical equipment tended to experience short circuits. He thought it had something to do with digimon drawing power from their surroundings so that they could realize without any trouble. Although he wasn't very knowledgeable about digimon or how the material world worked, he found it odd that life forms based on digital information could form solid bodies in the real world. It seemed impossible, yet it happened all the same.

Nearing his destination—a construction site by the looks of things—he saw a pillar of light suddenly erupt from its interior.

Smiling with excitement, Takato picked up his pace, eager to greet his digimon.

All the while, oblivious to the shadow of the fox-like figure that followed from behind, high above on a building rooftop, blue eyes watching…and waiting.

**###**

A dark-haired boy, Henry Wong, sat before his computer, typing busily away as he formulated his response on the Digital Starlight forums while a short ways off to his side, by his bed, his little sister, Suzie Wong, held up the large, rabbit-like ears of a small, cream and green-colored digimon, currently playing the role of 'tormented stuffed toy' for the girl.

"Terriermon digivolve too…" she cheered before suddenly something from outside caught her attention. Henry chuckled mentally. That was Suzie. Seven years old and easily distracted by just about anything and everything. Heaving a sigh of relief, Terriermon plopped down on the floor, feigning the weight of the burden he had to carry whenever Suzie chose to play with him. Curiosity soon stole him though and he lifted his head up to see what had so snagged the girl's attention.

"Whoa…" he breathed, seeing the spire of light rising ever up and up toward the sky like a shower of sparks. "Now that's something you don't see every day."

Henry's fingers paused upon the keyboard. Something that amazed Terriermon? That wasn't something that happened every day either.

"Pretty…" Suzie said, as if to add additional weight to the rabbit-dog-digimon's words, one hand waving at him to catch his attention. "Henwy… Come here. Look at the pretty light."

Finally giving in, the half-Chinese boy peeled his eyes away from the computer screen to see what they were talking about.

_Is that…a bio-emergence?_ he wondered upon seeing the sight. If so, it was unlike any that he had seen or heard of before.

Henry shuddered, already making a prediction about what the night's news would entail.

**###**

Standing beneath the train tracks, the girl steadily pumped her head and tapped the toe of a red, steel-toed sneaker on the ground to the music blasting away in her headphones. She had red-hair tied back into a ponytail, and she wore a white T-Shirt with a broken-heart symbol emblazoned on the chest. Her eyes were closed as she rocked to the music, ignoring the people who milled about, going through their daily routines. She ignored them. The world, for all she cared, was absent around her; just a place that she happened to live…at least for the time being anyway.

There were other worlds than this one. _Better_ worlds. She aimed to see them some day. But not just yet. She had a job to do first. A promise to keep.

_"Rika…"_

The familiar voice slipped through her mind like a quiet whisper and her violet eyes snapped open. "Huh?"

No more words were said, but upon spying the spear of gleaming light lancing into the sky, she knew all that was needed.

"Something's coming."

Before the light vanished, the fiery-haired girl was already off, her mind working out the best and fastest possible route to reach her target.

It was time for her to go to work.

**###**

_There…_

Takato found an alleyway that would lead him directly to where he needed to go. Or at least as directly as it could take him that is. Not hesitating for a second or even having second thoughts, he entered it, ignoring squeaking rats and coming to a stop at a ledge. Grabbing a nearby pipe, he slid down to the next level and continued on. The alley was getting narrower now, becoming increasingly cluttered with garbage. Taking a second to check his digivice's compass, he nodded to himself in assurance.

"Almost there." Wiping a now dirt-encrusted hand over his face, smearing his upper lip in such a way that it looked like he had the faint beginnings of a mustache, Takato continued on, squeezing through the ever tighter spaces until he came to a painfully short and narrow passage that he could only surmise was for sewage. Taking a deep breath, he quickly entered it, cringing as his hands picked up more dirt and grime as he crawled along its length.

"Ewww… Gross," he grimaced, grateful that it was at least dry in spite of last night's rain. "I don't even want to know what that smell is… _Yaaah!"_

Takato cried out in surprise as his right hand accidently found a rat, which likewise screeched back, unhappy with nearly being crushed. Trying to jump back, Takato could only find himself banging the back of his head against the roof of the passage, causing his teeth to click sharply together. Clutching his head while pain and stars racked his skull, he waited for the now agitated rat to follow up on its displeasure. When the rat didn't and the pain subsided, he cracked open his eyes, finding the rodents racing away from him and toward the exit. Groaning from the pain, he resumed his trek. It was almost over. He just had to stick with it a little longer.

Emerging from the other side, he found himself staring in awe at the glowing light emanating from a deep pit. Cables ran into the pit, sparking blue and red light. Getting up, he approached it slowly, though with very little caution for who might see him. So caught up in his amazement that he couldn't have noticed anything but the pit even if he tried. Coming to a stop at the edge, Takato saw a single, glowing crack in the ground, light pulsating from it in waves. Lifting his digivice up, he saw that the compass told him he was now dead center on the signal it was detecting. His _digimon's_ signal!

"This is it!" he whispered, eyes sparkling from the light below. "He's all mine!"

Spotting a nearby set of stairs, Takato went over to them and began to descend just as a fox-like shadow materialized out of thin air at the edge of the construction site.

The pulsing increased in frequency as Takato drew closer.

**###**

In the Hypnos control room, a red circle suddenly vanished, replaced by a crimson X symbol that beeped loudly.

"He's going to breach! I can't stop him!" Yolei exclaimed.

Takashi flicked his lighter open. "Where?"

A map materialized on the screens, displaying Japan. A black circle lit up on a corner close to the Pacific Ocean.

"Location: West Shinjuku!" Yolei replied.

**###**

Takato reached the bottom of the stairs just as the fox-shadow appeared at the top of the pit. The shadow kept itself just out of sight, blue eyes taking in the scene very carefully. The boy drew to a halt as he saw that the beacon of light was now an inky-black void. He looked at it worriedly, wondering if he had made a mistake, or if the digivice did. He had seen a bio-emergence before, in his dream and on one occasion, but he didn't remember this being a part of it. The darkness emanating from the beacon left him feeling…uneasy.

Before he could follow that train of thought any further, the darkness rose and wind suddenly buffered the boy, forcing him to hold onto the stairway railing tightly to keep from being knocked over. Mist exploded outward, blowing over Takato like a hurricane and enveloping the construction site entirely. Now _this_ Takato remembered. When the winds finally died down, he heaved a sigh of excited relief.

"Nice entrance…" Looking up, he saw within the mist a vague, shadowy outline. "So hard to see…" he said aloud. "Well? Is it?"

The shape began to take on a more distinct form as the mist cleared. Ears like batwings stood up, and the appearance was most definitely reptilian. Did he dare hope?

The mist continued to dissolve, revealing more features. Crimson scales; golden eyes; a pale white belly… The hazard mark on his stomach aside, it _looked_ like him! As Takato watched, the digimon made grunting noises, scratching at itself and waving a clawed hand in front of its nose after having sniffed the air. Takato wanted to break out into tears he was so excited. It was like a baby the way it was reacting to the world for the first time! The sights, the smells… All so new. All so different. The digimon giggled slightly…or at least Takato thought it giggled. He was so caught up in the moment that he could have been growling for all he knew.

"It _is_ him!" Takato crowed as the tip of Guilmon's tail twitched, rose, and struck the ground like a cat. "Wow! He's perfect!" He couldn't believe this was happening! Guilmon… _His_ Guilmon was really, finally here! This wasn't a dream. It was reality!

"He's amazing… Oh man! And _real! He's actually real!_ A real, live digimon!"

Absently, Takato heard some squeaking from rats on a electrical conduit. Seeing them, Guilmon tilted his head to one side curiously and began to sniff excitedly. Taking no notice of this, Takato approached, preparing to introduce himself.

"Hi there. My name is Takato and I think I created you…" A pause. "Guilmon?"

The digimon's pupil's suddenly shrunk to slits as he reared back, a bloody crimson light burning within his mouth. Lunging his neck forward, the dinosaur digimon launched a fireball at the rats, destroying the conduit they were on. Takato flinched as the light from the explosion died down, suddenly becoming uncertain.

"Ah… Gesundheit?" He looked over at the gaping hole in the wall, glowing red from heat and smoldering. "Wow… I guess you really don't like rats, huh?"

Looking back over to Guilmon, he found the digimon sniffing the air once more before now turning in his direction, his face smiling. Remembering the rats, the courage Takato had been holding onto faltered and he collapsed with a yelp.

"O-Okay, just stay calm," he tried to tell himself, but the shaking in his legs and the delirious pounding of his heart refused to pay attention. "E-Everything's going to be fine!"

Guilmon was now up on his feet and approaching him. Takato blanched.

"Here's a plan…" he said shakily. "I scream. Then run."

His legs, still quaking horribly, refused to so much as budge.

Guilmon grinned and seemed to laugh as he continued to get closer.

_"Or not!"_ Takato felt despair welling up inside him. This was how it was going to end for him? Become a Digidestined only to be devoured by his digimon?

"Please!" Takato pleaded, throwing his hands over his head to shield himself. Guilmon's shadow fell over him now, and he gave a small cry. "Don't do it! Guilmon! _Stooop!"_


	5. Interlude 1: Darkness and Knight

Renamon knelt down and leaned forward so as to get a better look at the digimon that had just now bio-emerged into the human world. It was not of a species that she recognized, which worried her.

_His power and size aren't normal…_ she mused, glancing back at the damage it— _Guilmon,_ as the boy was now identifying it as in his attempts to communicate—did to the wall. Much too powerful to be a Rookie, though not quite strong enough to be a Champion either. _An Armor-level perhaps?_

It was possible, though unlikely. Armor types weren't particularly common save for a few representative members of species that had the ancient ability. The digi-eggs required to trigger that particular digivolution were hard to come by and largely were possessed by the forces of Light and what Digidestined remained active in the human world. No, it was quite possible that this unknown digimon was of a type that held abnormal attributes that contributed to its appearance and power. The hazard-mark on its chest for example…

Renamon narrowed her eyes. The few digimon with that sign trended toward dangerous levels of power. _This one is not to be taken lightly…_

She continued to listen in to the boy— _Takato_ as he identified himself—as he continued to ramble on. _Did he say he created this digimon?_ She couldn't remember many instances where a human had gone and done such a thing. The Digimon Emperor at one point did so, or at least that's what she heard, and the resulting creature was dangerous and uncontrollable.

_Interesting…_ There was more about this human than met the eye. But then, she already knew that when she first spotted his ghostly visage floating in the air next to her last night.

The boy fell suddenly as the Guilmon noticed his presence. Renamon pulled back into the shadows. This digimon's senses appeared relatively sharp, if still underdeveloped in usage. Was it already aware of her presence? While she watched, the Guilmon approached Takato as he cowered and covered himself with his arms in a worthless attempt to protect himself.

_I should intervene… There is no way he can defend himself should this digimon turn feral. A digimon harming a human will not end well in this world…_

Yet Renamon stayed her hand, choosing instead to wait and see what the Guilmon would do. For some reason, while she watched, she didn't get the feeling that he was at all a threat to the boy. It was almost as if they were…were…

Renamon shook her head, unable to follow the train of thought. She needed to observe them a little longer before dealing with them. The lack of knowledge coupled with the Hazard mark ensured that she was blind in this battle. If the Hazard was provoked into activating…

Guilmon nudged Takato's arms and greeted him with a nasally, _"Hi?"_ causing the vulpine digimon to share in the human's surprise as he dropped his guard and, after a moment of hesitation, embrace the reptile, laughing hysterically with relief and joy.

_Interesting,_ she thought, vanishing into the darkness. She was going to need to keep an eye on this pair.

**###**

"Tai?" began Agumon, craning his head around him and taking in all the dials and controls. "Where are we?"

Tai must not have heard his question as his face exploded into bewilderment and gratefulness as his brown-eyes spied the blond-haired man floating across from them. _"Matt?!_ What…?" Blinking, he looked down at Gabumon and then back at his friend. "You're not supposed to be here!"

Matt, for his part, was finding it difficult to speak, unable to say something— _anything—_ to the brown-haired man. Tai looked about the same as he did the last time he saw him, albeit a bit rougher and more matured. His trademark hairstyle hadn't changed much either, though it looked considerably more tangled and frazzled.

_What happened to them?_ he wondered, taking in the scuff marks, bruises, and scrapes that ran along their bodies. Tai's clothes, resembling the beige robes of their old friend Gennai, was frayed, even burnt in places, with one entire sleeve gone, ending at a crispy edge on his right shoulder. Matt could see a tendril of smoke curling from it.

"Come to think of it, just where _is_ here?" Tai continued, spotting the ship's window and getting a neat portrait of the rocky, lunar surface.

Just then, all the old, pent-up emotions surged up from the well of his heart and Matt kicked back against the wall behind him, sending him flying toward the bushy-haired man.

"Matt, what's going on?" Izzy asked from the other side of the vessel. "I thought I heard…"

The computer genius poked his head into the lander just in time to see Matt punch Tai across the face.

**###**

"Nice to see you too, Matt," Tai grimaced, rubbing the swelling bruise on his cheek. Across from him, blue-eyes stared daggers at him, though a small, ghost of a grin tugged at the corners of his lips.

"Likewise," Matt replied. "I've been saving that one for fifteen years."

"Glad I gave you the chance to get it out of your system. Uh…" He turned to Izzy, who was floating between them so as to prevent any further escalation of violence between the two. "Hey, Izzy. I don't suppose you can tell me what's going on, can you?"

"Like where are we?" said Agumon. "The last place we were in was the digital world."

Tai nodded. "We were trying to escape to another layer, but somehow ended up here."

Izzy regarded at them for a moment, not saying anything at first, causing Tai to give him a small, apologetic grin. Izzy had never been the most easy-to-read people out there, but long association has taught his friends when he was displeased about something.

Tai couldn't blame him. Couldn't blame anyone really, all things considered. _Fifteen years is a long, long time to be away and not talk to anyone. You'd think I would have at least called sometime._

"You're on the JAXA space ship, _Friendship One,"_ Izzy said finally. "We're out in lunar orbit researching the physical limits of the digital world."

"Sounds like fun for you," Tai replied, his grin becoming more natural. Izzy however wasn't so ready to forgive and forget.

"What happened to you?" he asked, voicing Matt and Gabumon's unspoken question. He pointed to Tai's scorched outfit. Touching it, the Digidestined of Courage gave a wry laugh.

"The usual… Getting in over my head."

"That about sums it up," Matt sighed. "Are you hurt anywhere? We have some first aid…"

Tai shook his head. "I've picked up a few more tricks. I'll be fine in a little while, or whenever I go back to the digital world."

"You're not planning on coming home?" asked Gabumon, flabbergasted. "But…Tai… Your sister…"

Tai's lips set themselves together gravely at the mention of Kari, but he pushed onward, swallowing as he did so.

"I've still got a job to do. I can't go home, not with everyone in the digital world depending on me."

_Something big must be going down,_ Matt thought. _That looked hard for him to say. I know him… Even after all this time, if he thought he could see Kari again, he would try._

"What's going on?" he asked, grabbing a handhold and pulling himself closer to his longtime friend. Fifteen years ago felt so far away since seeing Tai again, but for the moment it was much closer, and he fell into his old role.

Tai winced. "It's like I said. A lot of the same old-same old. I don't everything that's going on, but Agumon and me… We came across and old enemy…aaand we might have made him mad."

_"Not that that's a surprise,"_ piped in Tentomon's voice from the loudspeaker. _"You had that tendency ever since you first came to the digital world."_

"Tentomon!" Tai and Agumon's heads both snapped up at it, smiles appearing on their faces before looking over at Izzy. "He's…alive?!"

"Long story," Izzy interrupted, raising a hand. "Might I remind you that we have bigger problems on our hand right now? What's going on?"

As if to answer the man's question, the electrical equipment in the ship suddenly began to go haywire, sparks and lightning leaping forth. Lights flickered on and off and _Friendship One_ rocked violently.

"What's going on?!" Izzy exclaimed, impacting the wall and grabbing a handhold so as to steady himself. All three Digidestined looked down at their waist as their digivices—small, rectangular-shaped devices with a screen surrounded by a ring—began to sound an alarm.

_"The ship's sensors are detecting massive distortions in space, Izzy!"_ Tentomon reported. _"I believe we're being pulled into the digital world!"_

"Agumon!" Tai shouted. "Quick! Look outside! Is it…?"

A shadow fell across them and a great, yellow, disease-ridden eye appeared in the ship's window.

_"Found you, Digidestined of Courage…"_ growled a voice that Izzy, Matt, Gabumon, and Tentomon all recognized.

The ship was suddenly rent in two as Apocalymon tore into it with his claws.

"The ship!" Matt exclaimed. "Our air…"

"Just calm down, Matt!" Tai shouted, pulling out his digivice and raising it skyward, on orange glow beginning to burn in its screen as a sun-like visage began to take form upon his breast. "Breathe! Just breathe! We're in the digital world!"

_What difference does that make?_ Matt thought deliriously. Here they were, in space, facing down one of their greatest foes, with no air. They were sunk. Towering over them was the black-armored face of Apocalymon, a creature born from the extinction of digimon that failed to digivolve. A sickening, pulsating, living embodiment of pain and anguish. The data that made up its body sought only to wreck havoc upon all that lived.

Dark spots were forming in Matt's eyes. He had exhaled to prevent damage to his lungs from the vacuum, but it didn't matter. No ship. No atmospheric pressure. No air. He had only seconds of consciousness at best.

_"You thought you could escape from me Digidestined of Courage?"_ Apocalymon snarled, his claws extending. Below, Matt could hear the rattling of chains below from the giant structure connected to his humanoid body; his mechanical claws were rising up to do battle. _"Fool… You cannot escape your doom. I know that all too well."_

"I prefer to call it a tactical retreat," Tai grinned as the light from his digivice burst, flowing outward and swirling around Agumon and forming a shell of digital data. The shell expanded as Agumon announced his transformation.

_"Agumon! Warp-digivolve tooo… WarGreymon!"_

The shell exploded, revealing a tall, humanoid, orange-scaled reptile wearing shining armor. Great, golden gauntlets ran the length of his forearms, ending on a trio of claws—his Dramon Destroyers—as they extended outward from their hidden sheaths. A golden shield sporting a sun-logo identical to the one Tai bore on his chest, formed along his back and split apart like a pair of wings. Green eyes snapped open, and the now transformed WarGreymon got into a defensive stance.

"Let's do this!"

_"It didn't work before,"_ Apocalymon scoffed. _"What makes you so certain that this will be any different?!"_

WarGreymon didn't respond with words, but instead launched himself directly at the Viral digimon, deftly evading the claws that rose up to attack him and smashing his Dramon Destroyers into his face. Digital blood spattered into the void as WarGreymon struck again and again at his opponent.

Tai looked over his shoulder. "Matt! You need to warp-digivolve Gabumon! We need…"

The man blinked, seeing that his best friend was flaking on him. He didn't get it yet. Izzy and Gabumon on the other hand looked a little bit better for the wear, coughing and gasping. Tensing, Tai leapt off from nothingness and, still pumping his legs as though he had solid ground beneath him, he raced over to Matt and grabbed hold of him. Rearing back a fist, he slugged his friend.

_"Ow!_ Tai!" Throwing his arms out, Matt shoved Tai backward, who promptly fell back on his rear, still appearing as though he were on solid ground. "Wha…?" Matt coughed unexpectedly, the black spots vanishing from his vision. He was…going to be okay?

"Deep breaths," Tai said, getting back up. "We're in the digital world! The rules are different here. Don't worry about it and just breathe and digivolve Gabumon! We need you if we're going to win this fight!"

"I…" Matt shook his head, forcing his head to clear out the fog it was in. Of course. How could he have been so stupid? Just looking at Tai— _hearing him—_ should have clued him in that things weren't what he expected them to be. Kicking himself for a dope, he looked over at the fight with Apocalymon. He had yet to use any energy attacks against WarGreymon, perhaps due to his being too close to his main body. It wouldn't take much for that to change though. Matt pulled out his digivice and focused. He could feel the familiar energy swirling within him—the digital footprint of the crest of friendship, recharged years ago when the war began. Reactivating it however felt…difficult, as if the years of peace left him soft and out of practice. Grating his teeth, he focused harder, taking care not to force the flow, lest he cause problems for Gabumon.

Yet it felt so slow… Like trying to paddle through mud. No azure glow came. Not even a single buzz from his digivice.

"Matt…"

"I'm _working on it,_ Tai!" he growled, annoyed by the interruption.

"I didn't say anything."

"Then who…?" Turning around in confusion, Matt's eyes fell on Gabumon, who stood by his side, eyes looking up at him. "Gabumon…"

"It'll be all right, Matt," Gabumon said, smiling. "Sure, things look bad, but…we've had worse, right? We still won. We'll still win."

_He knows… He knows that I'm having trouble all of a sudden. I forgot… This partnership is a two-way street._

It was an old lesson…one that he carried with him for years. However the past fifteen years had brought a kind of peace in which he fought very little and he raised his digivice rarely to go further than the Champion level. Knowing a lesson was half the battle. He had to live it, but muscle memory declined with lack of use.

Matt felt Izzy's hand on his shoulder, and he looked to see the red-haired boy smiling confidently at him. It was soon followed by Tai's on his other shoulder.

"We believe in you Matt," Izzy said. "We're with you. Remember what we used to say? There's no _I_ in team."

"And as long as we have each other's back," Tai added, "there's no enemy that can ever beat us."

Blue light burst forth from Matt's digivice and surrounded Gabumon as he pronounced his digivolution.

_"Gabumon… Warp-digivolve tooo… MetalGarurumon!"_

The orb shattered, and a metal-clad wolf with a blade in place of his tail and a pair of glowing wings strapped to his back flew toward the sight of battle to aid his comrade-in-arms.

**###**

_"Death Claw!"_

WarGreymon dodged one claw, only to spot another one crashing toward him, with no way to avoid it in time. Bringing his hands together, he began to gather energy between them, forming a sphere. The Death Claw rushed closer. He wasn't going to make it in time…

_"Metal Wolf Claw!"_

At once, a barrage of missiles struck the claw, knocking it off its course and causing ice to form around it, freezing it in place. More missiles rained down on Apocalymon, and where they struck, ice appeared and expanded over his body. The demonic digimon struggled, shattering ice as it formed, but it grew faster than he could destroy it. It wouldn't last long though. Soon, his power would overwhelm MetalGarurumon's attack.

"Are you all right?" The cyborg-wolf digimon asked as he flew over to WarGreymon. The warrior-dragon nodded.

"Yeah, thanks. Are you ready to do this?"

MetalGarurumon barked a laugh. "Just like old times," he answered, a glow forming around the two of them. The light surrounding them grew brighter, merging together before solidifying into a single, shining, white orb.

_"WarGreymon…"_

_"MetalGarurumon…"_

Ice shattered as Apocalymon once again strove to free himself from his prison. Heat baked off his body. The ice was rapidly being deleted.

_"DNA-digivolve tooo…"_

Ice and shell exploded in one, great, final blast, revealing the two combatants.

_"Omnimon!"_

A long, billowing cape of white fluttered behind the armored figure as he lifted his massive, two arms—one ending in the head of MetalGarurumon, and the other, that of the head of WarGreymon. Chains waving in the air, as if voicing the uncertainty in their master's heart at this change, but not willing to admit defeat, Apocalymon snarled and thrust his hands outward.

_"Virus Grenade!"_

His lower structure opened up numerous ports and began to rapid-fire blasts of energy at the newly formed digimon. Slowly, as if unconcerned by the oncoming barrage of attacks, Omnimon, raised its WarGreymon arm. A blade with digital-runes inscribed into its surface snapped outward. Gleaming, the warrior pulled back and swept the blade across, sending a single slash of energy out toward Omnimon's attacks, engulfing them and destroying them utterly. Apocalymon gaped in horror at this sudden turn of events.

"It's over," Omnimon said in a loud, booming voice. Now raising the arm ending in MetalGarurumon's head, the mouth opened and a massive cannon thrust out of it, charging with blue energy. _"Supreme Cannon!"_

The blast roared out toward Apocalymon, smashing into him with thunderous force. The dark digimon's screams were drowned out by the shockwave as his data shattered and exploded, leaving nothing but a scattering of sparkling shards gleaming in the void.

_"Yes!"_ Tai shouted in triumph, pumping his fists into the air. "It's over! I can't even begin to tell you guys…"

_"Over…?"_ laughed a voice from the void—the voice of Apocalymon. _"You believe this to be_ over?"

"No way!" Izzy exclaimed, taken aback by this. "But…you were destroyed! Omnimon…"

_"To think my work can be undone by a digimon of his caliber… You know better than that, Digidestined of Knowledge. I shall show you your error!"_

There came a sudden blast of black wind that slammed into Omnimon and the three Digidestined, sending them, and the ruins of their spacecraft flying off into the void.

6


	6. Episode 2: Hidden in Plain Sight

"Mom! Dad! I'm home" Takato called out upon entering said establishment. Turning around, he anxiously checked Guilmon, who was currently, and skillfully, being kept hidden from prying eyes by that most tried and true method around—a cardboard box.

In Takato's defense, it was the best that was available at the time. While digimon weren't exactly a sight that was cause for concern, at least as far as the Rookie level went—which Guilmon was, even if he happened to be unnaturally tall for one—unlicensed digimon wandering about were to be considered a public health concern, if only for their well-known voracious appetites and that they tended to be considerably stronger and more damaging than the average domesticated animal. Takato, in a pinch, could pass Guilmon off as a licensed digimon as long as no one asked to see any paperwork, as he knew of at least one student attending his school who had such a license—at least, that's what he heard around school anyway—but he felt that the risk would be too great to make the attempt.

Besides, he still had to slip past the gauntlet that was his family. Especially his mother, who at times was like a hawk around the house.

"Okay, you've got to be really quiet," he whispered to Guilmon.

"Okay," the red dinosaur acknowledged from within his box, causing Takato to flinch and freeze up, half-expecting his parents to ask who was with him.

"Hey, kiddo. You're home late, hah?" his father called out from the kitchen. Takato breathed a sigh of relief before heading over to the kitchen.

"Dinner's almost ready," his mother added, followed by the sound of clinking dishes.

"Ah, great," Takato replied, quickly sneaking past the kitchen door and getting a quick look at the locations of his parents. His mother was, as she sounded, at the sink, doing dishes. His father, as he suspected, was seated at the table, reading the newspaper. Not exactly good odds given that they both had a clear view of anything that went by. Rather, his father did, as Mie had her back turned, but it wouldn't take much for her to turn around. Just the slightest noise, even one from his father if he noticed something out of the ordinary, would be all it took for the jig to be up.

_Easy part done,_ he thought. _Now for Guilmon…_

He waved down the cardboard box, and it clumsily trotted past the kitchen.

"What's that?" Takehiro asked, taking note of the movement. Takato nearly froze at that, as did Guilmon, and gave a nervous laugh.

"Ahhh… What's what?" he asked dumbly. When in doubt and in need of time to think of an excuse that sounded good, play dumb and hope that his father would either lose interest (unlikely) or was asking about something else (also unlikely).

"That box you've got," Takehiro replied, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, which it was. Takato was sweating bullets now trying to keep his heart from running an Olympic Marathon in his chest.

_Oh please, oh please Guilmon, don't do anything and_ please _let this be over as quickly as possible…_

"Ohhh… The box! It's…It's just a…" Takato laughed nervously, pushing on the box and getting Guilmon to move again. "…a box! You know, to hold things. Ah…yeah!"

That was the ticket. Perfect excuse. Or at least as good as he was going to get under the current pressure.

_Please, no more. No more…_

He began to help Guilmon up the stairs, grateful that his mother hadn't bothered to look up from her work. That was good. As long as her attention remained focused on the dishes, he would be in the clear. His father he could more easily dodge no matter how bad his excuses were. He sometimes wondered if his father let him get away with things sometimes because he did similar things as a kid himself and felt that children should be allowed such pleasures from time to time.

"Don't be dragging anymore trash up there Takato," Mie called. "You know I'll just end up throwing it out again later.

"Okay!" Takato called back, wishing that they would just leave him alone so he could focus on the all-important task of getting Guilmon up the stairs. He seemed to be having some trouble. The steps were too narrow for his giant feet, half of which were claws. As he pushed, Guilmon rose, nearly popping out of the box. Takato pushed down. "You _have_ to stay in the _box!"_

"Takato?"

Jolting to attention, he looked up to see his father peeking around the edge of the kitchen door, an eyerow raised. Laughing almost maniacally now, he tried, and failed, to appear relaxed and that there was nothing wrong going on. "C'mon Guilmon…" he whispered to the digimon-in-the-box again, starting to feel more than a little hot under the collar. Taking hold of the box, he lifted, hoping that Guilmon would get the message and move up another step. Unfortunately, Guilmon was now taking his orders to stay in the box, stay hidden and stay quiet a little too seriously now.

"Need a hand there, son?" Takehiro asked, sounding concerned.

Guilmon finally advanced, causing Takato to feel a little relieved. "It's okay! I got it!" _Just a little more…_

Takehiro's head retreated, and as if on a signal, Guilmon bowled Takato over and raced up the stairs, with the boy quickly scrambling after him, missing his father's humorous, thoughtful expression.

**###**

Closing the door to his parents and waiting for the burning in his face to die down, he gave Guilmon the all-clear. Laughing gleefully, the red dinosaur threw off the box and immediately ran forward to explore his new surroundings. Approaching Takato's desk, he found a pile of paper, Takato's book bag, and various paraphernalia. He gave it a sniff, taking in Takato's scent before knocking the pile to the floor with a rough nudge of his face. Takato groaned upon seeing his things clatter, half-expecting his mother to come tearing up the stairs to see what all the commotion was about. Thankfully, the downstairs remained quiet.

"Heyyy… Don't do that, Guilmon!" Takato scolded. The red dinosaur turned toward him, confused.

"Guilmon?" he asked quizzically.

"Listen Guilmon," Takato continued, putting his hands on his hips. "You've gotta stay out of trouble. You can't keep blasting things and knocking stuff over. I mean, Mom yells at me when I bring a _box_ home! But a digimon? I don't think she'd ever be able to stop yelling." His expression softened. "Understand…boy?"

Guilmon tilted his head to one side before pointing a claw at himself. "I, Guilmon?"

Takato nodded and pointed at himself. "Right! I'm Takato!"

Guilmon's head changed inclinations, looking confused. "Ta…ka…to…mon?"

A baffled expression fell across the boy's face. Laughing he shook his head and pointed at himself again. "I'm not a digimon! Ta _-kato!"_

Guilmon only seemed to take this as further proof that he was right. _"Takatomon!"_

Groaning in exasperation, Takato tried to figure out a way to better explain all of this. _Guilmon was just born, like, an hour ago. Why would he know anything about what separates humans from digimon? I don't think the digital world has some kind of weird library where it downloads information into a digimon's head as soon as it's born._

"No, I'm a human being!" he tried to clarify, though that description felt…lacking. "How can I explain this? Let's see now…"

_How did the Digidestined do it?_ Looking up at an old photo cut out of a newspaper, one depicting the heroic Digidestined following a battle at Rainbow Bridge, he focused on one in particular; a youth with spiky hair wearing a pair of goggles on his head.

"That's it!" Takato declared in sudden inspiration. "I've got _just_ the thing! Wait." Going over to where his bed was, he began rummaging around in a corner. "Good thing I hid this from Mom. Everything I think is cool, she thinks is trash."

Getting back up, he turned toward Guilmon, revealing a pair of yellow-rimmed goggles. Strapping them onto his forehead, he waggled his eyebrows, beaming confidently. "See Guilmon? This makes me a Digimon _Tamer!"_

Guilmon found himself fascinated by the gleam of the lenses in the light.

"Oooh… Goggles…"

**###**

The night wore on, but for some, the night never ends, as Yolei knew quite well as she sat within the confines of her chair, scanning the digital network for any anomalies. There were many of course. Digimon didn't quit when it came to roaming around the network. The question on her mind, and the mind of her colleagues, was which ones intended to be a problem.

_Looks like it's going to be another long one tonight…_

"Sir, there's another one trying to bio-emerge," she reported as her sensors picked up a signal and displayed it on the screen as a red, glowing dot. "Initiating tracking sequence. Computer is acquiring a lock on the target."

The chair swiveled around as Tally received additional data from her systems. "Stand by. The data stream is congested. We may not get a visual."

Takeru was seated below them, playing with his lighter, flicking it open casually. "Send a tracer."

Yolei fed the order into the main computer. "Bringing the tracer online." An arrow-like signal appeared on the screens and raced in the direction of the red dot. "Closing in on the target."

Takeru gave a small chuckle. "Run rabbit, run…"

On the screen, they were greeted with a vast landscape of glowing circuit boards and a shifting, ocean-like blue sky crossed with a grid-like pattern. At the center of the image was a vague, glowing, humanoid figure racing across the landscape.

"Computer is rendering," Yolei updated. "Visual completion in T-minus five seconds."

Getting up, Takeru snapped his lighter shut. "Well now, it looks like you've lost the race my little friend."

The latest digimon was now taking shape. It was green-skinned with an orange Mohawk atop its head. It wore what appeared to be brown-leather animal hide, and one massive hand clutched a club. It looked like the classic image of a caveman mixed with a touch of the Metal music genre. It was really moving in its bid to get to the real world, but as Takeru observed, it wasn't able to keep ahead of the tracer. The race was over.

However, as it spun around to face its pursuer, it became clear that the emerald digimon had other ideas. Swinging its club, the picture jerked savagely and then dissolved into static.

**###**

Takato lay on the floor, crashed next to Guilmon, blanket thrown over the pair. He hadn't expected to be in bed before his parents; not with a digimon in the house anyway. One would think that with his dream fulfilled, he would have been unable to fall asleep. However, with everything that had happened over the course of the day, the journey to find his partner, the adrenaline that continued to push him forward, and the bump on his head that he managed to ignore… All of it came flooding into his body and before too long it was all he could do to remember to fetch a blanket.

Still, with a digimon partner by his side, snoring next to him, _("Wow, bad breath…"_ he snoozed happily in his exhaustion, still almost unable to believe this was real), his dream at long last fulfilled, Takato felt that all was right with the world.

Light spilled out over him as his door slid open and his father poked his head in. The man looked at Takato for a moment, taking note of the large lumps that lay beneath Takato's blanket. Hearing Takato muttering about an odorous breath, he sniffed the air and then nodded to himself.

_Yep. Just as I thought,_ he thought, closing the door and heading over to his and Mie's bedroom.

This was going to be a tough sell to Mie, if not downright impossible. She didn't believe Takato was mature enough to be able to handle much in the way of responsibility without an ever-watchful eye looking over his shoulder like a hawk. There were a few odds and ends she trusted him with, but rarely anything important.

He had to try though.

Entering the bedroom he shared with his wife, he found her sitting in front of a mirror, massaging anti-aging cream into her face and grumbling at it to "Work its magic". Maybe he had a chance?

"You know honey, I've been thinking…" he began, testing the waters..

"Oooh, did it hurt?" she interrupted sarcastically. Takehiro winced and dropped his head, biting back an equally sarcastic response. Not even two seconds in and already the matriarch's tone indicated she wasn't going to hear it.

"Yes… Exactly…" he replied. "Ah…well…um… Takato… Being an only child…can get…" He shrugged his shoulders. "…you know."

"No way," she said without question, already guessing what was on his mind.

"But, honey!" Takehiro protested approaching her. "I haven't even said anything yet!"

"And you don't have to! We can't have pets here!"

Takehiro felt whatever confidence he had in this debate deflate almost immediately. He had forgotten about the rules regarding the lease. "Right…" he said, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment as he sat himself down, feeling like a dope for his mental slip. Still, he wasn't quite out of the game yet. "We could hide it."

That response sounded small and mousy; a last, desperate plea on the retreat. The game was lost even if he refused to give up.

"It's not a question of hiding it," Mie responded, still focusing on her image in the mirror. "What kind of lesson would we teach Takato if we tell him it's okay to break rules whenever he wants? Besides, we both know Takato isn't old enough to take care of a pet."

At that, Takehiro rallied, desperate for _some_ kind of give. "Ah…"

"And don't say you'll take care of it until he's old enough," she continued, cutting his next argument off at the knees. Takehiro dropped his head again in disappointment at himself.

_Sorry son…_ he thought, moaning like a child who hadn't gotten his way.

**###**

Rika Nonaka wandered through the city streets, trying to ignore the growing sense of disappointment that she felt ever since losing the latest digimon to bio-emerge today. The disappointment was nearly palpable as her blue-trimmed digivice had registered it as being quite the catch of a digimon—powerful data that would help Renamon grow stronger and become the ultimate warrior that she was asked to make her. There was, of course, a chance to find it later, since its digital signal was distinct and unique from other digimon in the area, but that would take time and more than a little bit of patrolling until she got within range.

A veritable needle in a haystack. Rika hated disappointment, and she detested being made to feel as though she were wasting her time.

She wanted to blame Renamon for the failure, as she had the speed to get there and intercept the digimon in time, but even she had to admit that the distance to the construction site had been long, and if a digimon was small enough, such as being at the Rookie level, it would stabilize upon realization quickly and be able to vacate the area in short order. From what she saw upon arrival, it wasn't as if a digimon wouldn't be able to hide either. The place looked like a maze. She couldn't imagine someone being easily found if they didn't want to be.

So Rika had to swallow her disappointment and content herself with playing a cat and mouse game with the unknown for the time being. She could only hope that the wait wouldn't be a long one.

What to do until then though?

As I in answer, a beam of light shot up toward the sky from the direction of Shinjuku Park, and the dense fog known as a digital field settled over the tree line. A small smile drew itself on Rika's face and she broke into a run in its direction.

_Another one's coming through!_ she thought excitedly. Finally! Some action! Pulling out a pair of violet sunglasses, she slipped them on over her eyes to protect them from the digital field. _Get in gear Renamon, or we'll miss all the fun._

Slipping through the barrier of the digital fog, Rika drew to a halt just as Renamon materialized in front of her. Pulling off her sunglasses, she took out her digivice. "There it is. Renamon?"

"I'm on it," the vulpine digimon replied, her eyes flashing. At once, her vision pierced through the dense layer of the digital field, revealing the digimon that had bio-emerged. Rika's digivice lit up, displaying a holographic circle above its screen that showed the digimon's image—a green-skin creature with animal-leather clothes and a club—alongside basic stats and abilities.

"Goblimon," Rika read. "Let's see…he cheats. He's got a Fireball Goblin Strike." She tsked, continuing to pour through the data. "It's _just_ a Rookie! Where's the sport in that?" She looked up at the Goblimon in disappointment. "Walk all over him, Renamon."

"He's toast," Renamon declared, jumping toward the Goblimon, smashing a foot into its belly. The Goblimon grunted as she leapt away, but otherwise didn't seem very much effected by the blow. Indeed, it almost seemed to be confused as to what struck it. Looking around, it took note of Renamon, growled, and suddenly charged toward her, swinging high with its club. Renamon deftly ducked under the rather wide attack and followed with a powerful uppercut.

"You missed…" she teased, jumping away with a smirk.

The Goblimon however, again, did not seem to be the least bit phased by Renamon's superior skills or her strength, and instead charged after her relentlessly

**###**

Of all the sights to see in the world, Calumon had to admit that this was by far the strangest he had seen. The two _humans_ (not _hu-mons_ as he initially believed them to be) were locked in what appeared to be a grappling match, though not one that seemed to make sense as they were intent on mashing their mouths against each other and making odd, giggling noises. Neither side seemed to be trying all that terribly hard to overwhelm the other. Were they playing? Or were they really just that bad at fighting?

"Is that your special attack?" he asked finally, curiosity overcoming his wariness. Breaking apart, one of them, the tall one with odd, yellow scruff on his face, looked at him with raised eyebrows.

"Who're you little dude?"

The other one, shorter, for some reason did not take advantage of the taller one's distraction despite having their arms locked around their opponent's neck. Instead, she also turned toward Calumon, and at once screamed as if in delight.

"Oh! What a cute little toy! Did you get that for me, honey?"

Still trying to make sense of the situation, and trying to be helpful, Calumon smiled back. "Hey, you know what? You're going to have to open your mouths much, _much_ wider if you really want to swallow each other."

The two humans' eyes suddenly widened in horror.

"What are…?" began the taller one, panic edging into his voice. "What did you say?!"

"An alien!" screamed the shorter one. "It wants to swallow our _brains!"_

"Don't do it man!" shrieked the taller human as the pair took off at a run. "I need what little brain I have!"

"Hey!" Calumon called, trying to calm them, but it was too late. They were off and gone. Retracting his ears into his head, Calumon's expression became downcast. "Ohhh…" _What did I do wrong?_

The triangle mark in the center of his head glowed slightly just then, and he suddenly perked up, completely forgetting about his misadventure. Looking over at the digital field behind him, he…sensed presences within, locked in combat. Yes, he could feel them clearly. Three, and a bond existed between two of them. "Oh! Maybe I can help them!" he exclaimed. Ears expanding again, he flew into the field and lit upon a tree branch to see what was going on.

Almost at once, he felt the wind go out of his heart's little sails. A human stood at the edge of the battle, watching it as it progressed while a Renamon and Goblimon were fighting. Nothing that at first glance appeared out of the ordinary, but…in a place deep inside of him, Calumon felt…something _wrong_ about this. He couldn't explain what, but the girl…and the fox… The way they fought the Goblimon…

He just lacked the words to describe how he felt beyond a big, dark, lonesomeness that made his ear-wings retract into his head once more. "Ohhh…" he moaned. "She doesn't have to be this way… Doesn't she know that?"

As he watched, the Goblimon again rushed Renamon and smashed his club into the ground just as she leapt away.

"He's _not_ losing strength, Rika!" Renamon called, and the red-haired girl sighed.

"Yeah, this is boring." Pulling out a card from the card-box attached to her belt, she slid it through the slot of her digivice. _"Digi-Modify!"_ she called as sparks flew from the slot. _"Hyper-chip activate!"_

Sadness welled up in Calumon's heart as Renamon's form began to blur. In the center of the triangle on his forehead, light appeared, revealing a small, pink, sun-light symbol within. Light exploded outward, startling both Rika and Renamon. The light focused into a tight beam and shot into Goblimon, causing his form to change and grow. His skin changed color, becoming a deep, fiery orange and a white main of hair grew down his now more sleek body. Horns and tusks erupted from his head and mouth, and his jaw grew and swung open, locking in place. The club changed too, transforming from a simple chunk of wood to a long, spiked bone. Rika gasped in surprise at this startling turn of events.

"He _digivolved!_ But how? He shouldn't be able to!"

**###**

The first thing Takato heard when he realized Guilmon wasn't sleeping next to him anymore was a low, animal-like growling. Sitting up, he found the digimon standing at his window, snarling angrily at the drapes. "Hey…" he said groggily, pushing aside his blankets and getting up. "What's wrong boy? Guilmon?"

Guilmon didn't answer, and instead continued to growl at the window. Concerned, Takato went over to the drapes and opened them, half expecting to find a giant bug monster or something waiting for him. Instead he was greeted with little more than the familiar sight of Shinjuku.

"There's nothing there." Takato looked helplessly at Guilmon, wondering what he was going to do if Guilmon turned violent. For the first time he noticed Guilmon's pupils had become slits, and he almost didn't seem to be aware that he was right there next to him.

"Uh…huh?"

_Oh man… What am I going to do?_

**###**

Goblimon, now revealed in his new form of _Fugamon,_ wasted no time in going on the offensive. New form or not, the change granted him _incredible_ power, and he intended to take advantage of it. The ground split open as he smashed his club into the ground, sending Renamon scattering away to avoid flying rock and debris.

Crossing her arms over her chest, Rika assumed a look of utter annoyance at this turn of events. "Renamon? I'm going to be very _vexed_ if you lose."

"Don't worry, Rika," the vulpine digimon replied confidently. "Just watch."

Jumping away from the girl, Renamon lured the Fugamon over to a small, metal dugout near one of the park's baseball fields. The Fugamon swept his massive club like a whirling tornado, demolishing the dugout, but again missing Renamon, who jumped behind him and nailed him with a well-timed kick just as he was turning around. Taking advantage of him now being off-balance, she lay into him with knee-shot to the jaw, swiftly followed by a barrage of rapid-fire punches that sent the Fugamon flying into the debris. Jumping back to gain some distance for her next move, she smirked at him.

"That all you got, big boy?"

Breathing heavily, the Fugamon staggered to his feet and once again rushed toward her. It seemed to be the _only_ tactic he had in his bag of smarts. Unimpressed, Renamon crossed her arms over her chest and jumped into the air. Light glowed around her, and she swept her arms outward, revealing a number of razor-thin, crystalline shards.

_"Diamond storm!"_ she shouted, and at once the shards descended upon the Fugamon, imbedding themselves into his body. Screaming in agony, the Fugamon's body broke apart into sparkling data.

"That's more like it, Renamon" Rika said, feeling some pride swell inside her. "Not even a Champion level digimon can stand in our way anymore. Now, download Fugamon's data."

Becoming prostrate in midair, light surrounded Renamon's body again and Fugamon's shattered form began to draw into her body. Rika watched as she did so, swearing that in the next fight, Renamon would win _without_ her help.

However, Renamon's battle performance aside, there was still one odd detail that bothered her about this battle. Just _how_ did Fugamon digivolve in the first place? She turned in the direction she saw the beam of light come from and took out her digivice. Once more the holographic circle materialized over the screen, only this time displaying the compass function. Rika narrowed her eyes. _A signal,_ she thought, but before she could say or do anything about it, the compass quickly lost its target. Rika bit back a curse and lowered the digivice.

_Was there a Tamer like me out there earlier who caused that digivolution? Or was it a Digidestined?_

No answers came to her, and she doubted that she would find them out tonight. For now, she was going to have to content herself with what small victories she could get.


	7. Episode 2: Investigation

Night advanced to midnight, and soon passed it. Bathed in the light of the waxing moon, stood the Matsuki bakery, silent and dark. Across from it, hidden in the shadows, was Renamon, her blue-eyes gleaming eerily bright.

_The Guilmon has finally quieted down,_ she thought, in part relieved. The digimon was unquestionably a Virus-type, prone to aggressive behavior. Its high level of power did not mix well with its immaturity. It was nothing short of amazing that its human partner managed to keep it restrained at all.

_Had he not, it most certainly would have torn its way out of the building, looking for a fight._

As a Data-type, she was somewhat vulnerable to Viruses, though not insurmountably so, as she had proven earlier during the evening with the Fugamon. She had both power and the experience to handle nearly any Virus at the Champion level or below, whereas the new arrival was little more than a child wearing clothes much too big for it. If it came down to a battle, she was confident in her ability to come out ahead, so long as there were no surprises. Both the boy and the Hazard sign remained enigmas. The Hazard because it was unpredictable and the boy because she knew nothing about what he was capable of. A human who could create a digimon that didn't exist until now could create anything, and she had reason to believe that he could do much, much more.

_There are rumors among humans who have paranormal abilities, such as sending an astral projection of themselves to another location. Are you able to do such a thing? Or did my eyes deceive me?_

She doubted that was the case. She recognized him easily enough when she saw him by chance on her way to the construction site. Such an odd event could hardly be called a coincidence.

Yet, despite following him to his home and observing him, she had yet to learn anything useful. It seemed that until he left, she was wasting time…

Renamon felt a cold chill go through her and her fur stood on end. Recognizing the presence, she leapt up to the rooftop behind her.

"Aren't you supposed to be cultivating the darkness within the Digimon Queen?" laughed a tall, lean figure with tattered wings behind his back. White horns protruded from his skull, and his white body-suit glinted like crystal in the moonlight. Renamon's blue-eyes met his unflinching red ones.

"You shouldn't be here, IceDevimon," she reprimanded. "If Apocalymon…"

"Apocalymon is _occupied_ at the moment," IceDevimon laughed. "Something to do with the larger battle I believe; something that you should be working on now."

"There…is a new element in this," Renamon said carefully. Unlike Fugamon, IceDevimon was of a power that was beyond her current abilities. If she could digivolve… But no. She couldn't as yet. She had to play the game. Turning, she gestured to the Matsuki residence. "A human has been partnered with another digimon, using the same digivice as Rika. I believe forces are moving against Apocalymon."

"He is of the dark, as are we," IceDevimon sneered. "Forces move against us always, just as we do against them. This is the game of Light and Shadow, Renamon. You know this as well as I do." Looking at the window, he raised an unnaturally long arm, and Renamon could see ice crystals forming along his fingertips. "If you're concerned about it though, perhaps you'll allow me to remove this piece from the board…"

Renamon folded her arms over her chest. "If you are concerned enough about my wellbeing, you are more than welcome to."

IceDevimon's eyes flashed in anger. Renamon nearly smiled upon seeing that. IceDevimon had been the most opposed to her partnership with Rika.

"Concerned? About you?" IceDevimon's face drew a cruel smirk. "No. I watched you, Renamon. _You_ allowed this pawn to enter the playing field when you could have removed it while it was vulnerable. This is your mess. _You_ can clean it up."

With a dark laugh, IceDevimon rose into the air and vanished from sight, leaving Renamon alone with her thoughts. Returning her attention to the Matsuki residence, she walked over to the edge of the roof. No movement greeted her. No shine of golden eyes. Guilmon remained quiet and undisturbed.

Pulling her claws into the palms of her hands, she wondered if she should act now and destroy the digimon and his partner before they could become a danger to her fellow Nightmare Soldiers. Yet… She couldn't help but think of the bright, shining happiness that the boy greeted the digimon with upon embracing him. It was odd to her, but the scene had been enough to stay her hand. It was so… _different_ from when she first met Rika. The two greeted each other warmly—almost lovingly. Nothing like the relationship she had with Rika. Renamon tipped her head back, remembering the night that the digivice joined them together.

_Power… The need for it burned within the both of us then. She sought strength…a means to escape and be recognized, and when offered she took it. And I… I wanted to be even stronger._

Looking back at the window, she narrowed her eyes.

_These two cannot be much of a threat though. Hazard or not, the human acts little better than a pet-owner babying a puppy. Whatever strength they possess will become mine and I will move on to the next target. The next opponent. You, human, will be left behind, broken._

Renamon's frown deepened, a part of her feeling uncertain. Dismissing the emotion, she vanished from sight. She would learn nothing more here until the boy and his digimon were gone.

She had been away from Rika for far too long anyway.

**###**

Ready for another day of school, Takato snuck down the stairs from the living area of the bakery and peeked around the corner, keeping a sharp eye out for his parents.

_Okay,_ he thought, seeing that the coast was clear. _This is going to be a lot easier than last night._

Quickly heading to the bakery section, he quietly slipped on his shoes and ran by his parents as they busied themselves with their morning chores.

Unfortunately for him, quiet was a sound his mother could hear even in the depths of space.

"Takato," she called, quickly turning around just as the boy stopped near the stand filled with the bread from the day before.

"Hm?" he called, a small loaf in one mouth while he busily jammed a mess into his pockets.

"Do you remember that time you found a cat and brought it home?"

Takato swallowed the chunk of bread down painfully before answering.

"I didn't just find it, Mom," he said, squeezing a few more chunks of bread into his pants pockets. "That old lady gave it to me, remember?"

"I know," she continued as he made his way toward the door that would take him to the freedom of outside. "I just want to remind you that we can't have any pets. Are you listening?" She made her way toward the kitchen exit and poked her head in. "Takato?"

Takato froze and turned to her, eyes expectant.

"Whatever animal you have up in your room, you're just going to have to…take it back, okay?"

Mie hesitated on those last words, not wanting to see her son upset. Due to the life they had, the neigh constant trouble to make ends meet, she often worried about her son's happiness. Yet he rarely complained, even when it was obvious he had his heart set on something. Try as he might, his heart often told its tale openly.

Much to her surprise, he simply gave a nervous laugh. "Mom, you're crazy! An _animal!"_

Shrugging his bag into a more comfortable position on his shoulders, he exited the house, leaving Mie to watch his retreating back worriedly.

**###**

_Yeah… An_ animal!Takato laughed again, closing the door to the bakery behind him. _If only she knew…_

He breathe a sigh of relief though. He hadn't been certain he could get away without a more thorough grilling. He suspected that his parents believed he brought an animal home last night as the box and the trouble he had getting it upstairs would have been an undeniable hint. To get away with only a small reminder of the rules of their lease? He couldn't have asked for better luck.

_Hard part of the easier-than-last-night part is done!_ Takato thought, stopping in the alleyway and closing the door behind him. _Now for the even easier part._ Looking up at his bedroom window, he smiled. "Guilmon! Come down here!" he called.

At the command, Guilmon, box and all, came crashing down on top of him, causing the boy to squawk and gasp as the duo untangled themselves.

_"Down here_ , not _on me,"_ Takato scolded, getting back to his feet.

"Sorry," Guilmon grunted.

"Man… You're heavy!"

Guilmon giggled. "Yeah!"

Dusting himself off, Takato smiled. "Okay. Are you ready to go? We're going to find a _special_ place for you!"

From within the box, Guilmon's eyes lit up. "Special? Where are we going?"

"Well…"

**###**

"I'll just leave that there…" Takato grunted, arranging the great wall of cardboard in what he felt was the best way to obstruct vision from anyone passing by the alleyway. "And that there…" He heard rustling behind him from Guilmon, and he turned just in time to spy Guilmon giving a piece of garbage a testing lick. _Not again…_ "Guilmon, don't eat that!" he scolded.

"Okay…" Guilmon replied, his ears wilting slightly.

_Honestly, digimon and their stomachs…_ Smiling apologetically at sounding annoyed he returned his attention to his cardboard wall and wiped an arm over his head. "Well, it's not pretty, but it should do." Turning back to Guilmon, he adjusted his bag. "Now Guilmon, since you can't stay at home you're going to have to stay here while I go to school, okay?"

In the cardboard box that was his shelter, Guilmon tilted his head, not comprehending why his partner had to leave him. "Go school?" he chirped.

"I know," Takato laughed falsely. "I wish I could take you with me, but I don't have a license for you and I don't think they let digimon on the grounds. If I took you with me, they'd grab you and take you away and then I'd never see you again." His expression became downcast as he thought about it. Brushing it off for Guilmon's sake, he fixed his partner with a smile. "Well, even though I can't take you to school, the two of us can play _all_ afternoon when I get home, okay? Until then, stay in that box."

"Play now!" Guilmon laughed, tossing his head.

"I wish I could. Now I've got to go." Turning he prepared to leave, only to stop as he remembered that he still had something to give Guilmon. "Oh! If you get hungry, eat this!"

Reaching into his pockets, he dumped a load of bread in front of Guilmon, who watched it all fall with wide eyes. Sniffing it cautiously, he looked up at Takato questioningly.

_You'll try to eat garbage but not this?_ Takato laughed mentally. "Oh yeah. This is okay for you to eat. This is food." Picking up a bread roll, he gave it a hearty bite, making throaty noises to indicate how good it was. "Now you," he said between mouthfuls before swallowing.

Tentatively, Guilmon picked up the bread with his claws and then nodded. "Ah…okay!" Dumping the whole thing into his mouth, Guilmon found himself rendered utterly speechless by the sudden delicious assault on his tongue. It overwhelmed him, and in the next moment he was busily gobbling down another bread roll…and then another…and then another. So lost in his sense of taste, he barely noticed Takato telling him to stay put and be good before departing. Instead he kept downing bread after bread until finally…

"Want _more!"_ He exclaimed with glee, only to be met with silence.

"Takatomon?" he asked the cardboard wall in front of him. His ears dropped as he realized the boy had left him. Throwing his head back, he let out a loud, mournful howl. _"Takatomonnn…"_

**###**

"This place?" Davis asked as he and DemiVeemon followed Ken and Wormmon through Shinjuku Park, approaching a baseball field. It was the site of their newest investigation; the latest bio-emergence. "Man… It looks like a hurricane went through here or something."

He looked around, finding a dugout shelter in utter ruins. The ground looked as though it had been split open. In spite of the yellow tap around the area, he was rather surprised that they didn't find Takeru or any of Hypnos' agents conducting an investigation. He was glad though. He wasn't sure if he would be able to keep himself from punching the man this time.

Ken chuckled. "Yolei said something along the lines of that when she got home from work."

Davis raised an eyebrow, surprised at the purple-haired woman. "She actually told you?! Doesn't she work at a super-secret government building?"

"She didn't give me any details," Ken replied. "And she and I have the understanding that she can't talk about her job. That doesn't mean that I don't have ways to figure things out. Do you still have your D-Terminal?"

"Yeah," Davis nodded.

"It's kind of collecting dust though," DemiVeemon said from atop the man's head. "Everyone's been so busy lately we haven't been able to talk a whole lot anymore."

"I know," Wormmon said, looking a bit upset. "I've been trying to convince Ken to have a slumber party with everyone like he did years ago, but…"

"Yeah, but," Davis said, laughing harshly. "Adulthood sucks doesn't it?"

"I don't know why any of you humans would bother growing up," Wormmon said, looking at Ken as though he were somehow at fault for it. "It's certainly not fun."

"We'll find time," Ken said, pulling out his D-Terminal. Popping the D-Terminal open, he pressed in a few commands and waited. Davis raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Um… Isn't it a little early to be setting that up now? I thought we were here to do a job."

"We are. I have a little program installed on it now. Izzy helped provide me with some input, but this is mostly mine." Smirking, he tapped the side of his head. "Just because the Dark Spore doesn't affect me anymore doesn't mean that I can't be smart."

Davis snorted. "Yolei says you can't figure out when it's your turn to do the dishes."

"Ha… Ha," Ken said in a deadpan tone. "Anyway, it connects to the servers back at headquarters and by using it in conjunction with my digivice's detect functions…" The D-Terminal beeped as it finished. "There we go…"

"What's up?"

"Remember the digital residue that I mentioned yesterday?"

Davis' eyes lit up. "You've got something?"

"It's found a match from data I gathered from some of the other scenes and it's finally put together the puzzle." He looked at Davis fully. "It looks like in addition to our Ice digimon problem, we have a Renamon on the loose."


	8. Episode 2: Hide and Seek

"So that's a Renamon," Davis said as Ken busily typed away on his D-Terminal. The screen displayed an image of a yellow-furred, bipedal vixen with purple armguards. He didn't understand the statistics on the sidebar, but it looked to be a formidable fighter all the same.

"Rookie level, data type," Ken nodded. "Above average abilities. An experienced Renamon is a match for Flamedramon. In fact, it could even be better with the type difference."

"I never really got that type stuff during the war," Davis admitted, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. "But I guess that means I shouldn't lead off with Flamedramon if it decides to fight or something?"

"It'd be a better idea to let Stingmon handle it," Ken smiled at his friend. "He's a Virus for starters and he has aerial superiority. Besides…" He glanced at DemiVeemon, who stood on the ground by Davis' feet. "…it kind of looks like DemiVeemon has gained a little weight."

"Hold on!" protested the blue and white digimon, suddenly puffing up with indignation. "Are you saying that I'm fat?"

"You do a lot of eating," Davis said, looking away furtively. "And you're not exactly alone either, buddy. That's my fault. I should have kept up with stuff instead of…pursuing my dream." His expression fell. _I should have been looking for Tai…_

"This is for yesterday, isn't it?" DemiVeemon scowled, turning away from Davis and folding his tiny arms over his chest. "All right. Laugh if it makes you feel better, Davis."

"DemiVeemon…" Davis protested, feeling like a heel now.

"This really isn't the time you two," Ken said. He tapped a finger against his chin thoughtfully. "We have to figure out how to deal with this digimon once we find it."

Davis hummed to himself thoughtfully for a moment. "Hey, how come _Takeru,"_ he forced himself to say the name, "isn't finding this digimon faster than you? He and Yolei have access to all that top secret hardware don't they?"

"Takeru does what he wants," Ken replied, quoting his wife. "I don't think even Yolei knows what's going on in his head anymore. She says that he's let some digimon come into the real world and stopped others from doing the same. No reason given except that he's 'interested' in seeing what they do."

"That's nuts. So you're saying he let this Renamon through?"

"I'm not saying anything at all. It could be that this digimon might have abilities like Daemon did; the ability to traverse the dimensions and make its own digi-gates. Even though the borders between the worlds are closed, we can't stop _every_ digimon from realizing."

Davis shook his head. "I just don't get that guy. I thought he wanted to help both worlds, but now…" He shook his head. "I'm glad that Kari can't see him right now. I'd hate to think about what that would do to her." _It's bad enough she already lost her brother…_

Ken closed his D-Terminal. "Done."

"Done?" Davis asked, raising an eyebrow. Ken nodded.

"I've set up an algorithm that I've been using for the ice digimon case and uploaded it. Basically it uses wi-fi hot spots and uses them to ping digimon in the area that matches the digital residue—basically extending the digivice's detection range."

"Dude, that's awesome!" Davis exclaimed, pumping a fist into the air in amazement.

"It's not perfect though," Ken pointed out. "I haven't been able to find the ice digimon with this program and it's been a little over a month since the first reports came in." He grimaced. "Some partner digimon have been reported missing in that time frame as well." Sighing, he shook his head. "At any rate, I feel reasonably confident that both digimon are at least residing in Shinjuku, so at least we don't have to travel very far."

"Uh…" began Davis. "Hate to break it to you, but Shinjuku's a pretty big place. I don't think your 'detective agency' has enough feet on the ground to cover that beat."

"Not necessarily," Ken pointed out. "Most of the encounters have been isolated to the general area surrounding the Shinjuku government building. It's where the new portal to the digital world is located…" Ken halted as he realized what he said out loud. Turning, he looked at Davis in alarm, who likewise greeted him with a surprised face.

"A…portal?" he asked. Ken sighed at his mistake.

"You're not supposed to know that," he admitted. _"I'm_ not even supposed to know that."

"But there's definitely a portal, right?"

Ken nodded. The surprise on Davis' face quickly transformed into eagerness.

"Well what are we waiting for?" Davis asked.

"Yeah!" DemiVeemon said, hopping up onto his partner's shoulders. "We can go back to the digital world and find Tai and Agumon! We could be _helping_ the digital world like we did before! That'd be best for both worlds!"

"It's not as easy as that," Ken said. "Besides the fact that we're all out of practice, the portal isn't stable and mostly sealed up by layers of firewalls. Digimon can still get through, but mostly by brute force…at least from what we've seen so far, and even then it's not easy for them." He paused before continuing. "From what Yolei tells me, it's almost impossible to go in the reverse now. Not through that portal anyway. And there aren't any others out there that we know of since the end of the war."

Davis' face at once became one of crushing defeat. Ken almost blanched at the sight. This was…far from the Davis that he knew as a child; the Davis who never let anything stop him or slow him down.

"There's…nothing we can do?"

Ken made as if to shake his head, and then thought better of it. "Nothing yet. We'll find a way."

**###**

Takato found Kazu and Kenta in their usual meeting spot in the playground, hanging out in the concrete dinosaur, playing cards.

"Um…Greymon digivolves to…MetalGreymon!" he heard Kenta say, his voice full of trepidation that quickly turned into a desperate kind of determination. He smiled sympathetically. That usually meant that Kazu had had him on the ropes for a while now and he was hoping to turn things around. _MetalGreymon's a good card,_ he thought, _but…_

"That's the best you can do?" Kazu derided, true to Takato's expectations. "I'm gonna warp-digivolve to WereGarurumon!"

"Uh…" Kenta was panicking now. _"Speed activate!"_

"Too bad," Kazu replied again, this time in a baby-like sing-song voice. "I've got a System Crash card. You lose!"

Kenta was already moaning as Takato grabbed hold of the edge and pulled himself up.

"If you wanna play again, I'd be happy to beat you!" Kazu bragged.

"Hi guys," Takato greeted, swinging himself up.

"Hey, hey!" Kazu replied, smiling broadly. "Where were you?"

"Yeah," Kenta added. "You're late."

"Sorry," Takato laughed. "You wouldn't believe what I've been through today!"

"One of your rare 'take a shower days'?" Kazu teased. Normally Takato would have bristled at this (he showered more often than Kazu thanks to his mother's enforcement of the practice), but instead he laughed it off.

"Hey…" Takato began, only for Kazu to interrupt upon seeing his headgear.

"What's with the goggles?" he asked. "Are you trying to be like Davis or something because of that story you told us yesterday?" Kazu's expression darkened. "You're not fooling us, Chumley."

Takato tried to laugh it off. "They're cool!" he declared protectively, hopping past his friends' dueling setup. "Actually, I've thought about it, and I'm thinking on becoming a digimon _Tamer!"_

Kazu snorted at the term, but seemed to lighten up a little.

"Digimon Tamer…" He looked over at Kenta. "Let's go. We've got to _digi-tame_ gym class!"

Kenta groaned and palmed the side of his face. "Who wants to sweat this early in the day…?"

"I'm just going to put these cards away," Takato said as they began to climb down out of their hideout.

"Yeah, okay," Kenta replied as the two boys dropped down and out of sight. Takato slung off his bag and pulled out his card box, a thoughtful expression on his face.

_I wonder if anyone can create a digimon?_ he thought. He had heard the stories of course; the 'Dark Tower War' that ended when the Digimon Emperor created Chimeramon—the first known artificial digimon to exist—but that had been by a Digidestined possessed by dark forces. Digidestined were… _special_ for lack of a better word.

_What am I then?_ he wondered, thinking back on the blue card from two days ago. _Am I a Digidestined? Or just…a Tamer? I mean, I have a digimon and a digivice… Sure, it's not a digivice model I've seen before except in my dream, but…still… Is that why I got that blue card?_

Curious, he lifted the lid of his card box and began to sort through the cards within.

"Huh…" he began, routing through them after a moment. "It's still missing. Where could it have gone?"

"Takato!" Kazu bellowed from outside, jerking Takato's attention back to the present. "C'mon! Sometime before we turn _fifty_ would be nice!"

"Okay, okay!" Takato replied, agitated. Quickly replacing the box lid over his belongings, he grabbed his bag and dropped out of the dinosaur hut. "I'm coming!"

With nothing further to be said, Kazu and Kenta took off at a run. Takato lingered a little, looking back over his shoulder, eyebrows knotted in thought.

_Did it just disappear back to where it came from?_

"Hey!" Kazu called again, breaking his concentration again. "You growing roots?"

"We'll be late!" Kenta added.

"Heeey…!" Takato laughed, taking off after his two friends.

_Well, whatever happened, I'm sure I'll find out eventually._

Unbeknownst to the three boys, a familiar cardboard box walked onto the playground, gold eyes peeking out through a hole and making a small, questioning growl.

**###**

Gatomon could only describe herself as one happy digital-kitty, laying as she was in the windowsill and soaking up sunlight with her fur. Warm sun was every cat's dream. Bringer of sleep and warm coziness; it offered nothing but comfort and the promise of certain napping…and an annoying habit of moving, but there was nothing Gatomon could do about that. At any rate, she was more than happy to just have the sun there, especially with what was shaping up to be another dreary, dull day at Shinjuku elementary.

Her tail twitched a little and she looked up, sensing something.

_What was that?_ she wondered, looking out the window in the direction her keen senses told her to. _Is Terriermon up to something again?_

Terriermon… The digimon that belonged to a half-Chinese boy, similar to one that lived in the United States with a boy named Willis. Similar that is, in that they were of the same species, had the same voice and the same habit of hanging out on their partner's head or shoulder, but their temperament was vastly different. Where the American one was casual but polite, the one in Shinjuku was a maker of mischief and could be…difficult to handle for his partner at times.

_He stays out of trouble enough at least,_ Gatomon thought, getting up so as to get a better look at what was going on outside. _Now what's going on out there?_

At the present, she didn't see much of anything that was out of the ordinary. Kari had her students outside, running them through jumps and measuring their distance leapt. The boys seemed to be well-behaved today at least. From the way Kari described them, they were largely a rowdy bunch, particularly Kazu, who just couldn't seem to sit still.

Not for the first time did Gatomon wonder why Kari chose to be a teacher and even continued to do so. To date, she often came home overstressed, exhausted and feeling generally unappreciated for her efforts. Between the students, their restlessness and Mr. Mori's constant attempts to hook up with her, she never seemed happy. Every day was like watching the girl she knew die a little bit more, sinking further and further into a depressing rut from which there was no escape.

_Fighting dark digimon was easier than this,_ Gatomon commiserated. She never thought she'd look back on all the wars and conflicts and see them as being _simpler_ to deal with. Enemies open about their intentions and determined to do harm were easier to handle simply by the virtue of making decisions a reflection of the mythological conflict taking place: black and white with no room for grays.

Movement at the edge of the gym field caught her attention, and Gatomon saw what appeared to be a box scuttling along in the direction of the school.

_Please tell me I didn't just see that…_ Gatomon thought, unaware that at that very moment, one Takato Matsuki was thinking the exact same thing down on the field.

**###**

_"Takatomooon~!"_ Guilmon called as he climbed up the stairs of the school. He had better luck this time around, as the stairs were larger than the ones at the Matsuki residence, but it was still a bit of an effort, especially with the box obscuring his vision.

_"Yamasaki!"_ shouted a voice from somewhere outside of Guilmon's box, as if in response to his call. Jolting to attention, the red dinosaur pulled himself all the way into the box so that as little of him could be visible as possible. He waited, sniffing the air. It didn't seem like there was anyone nearby, or at least not immediately so.

"So let me ask you," the voice continued, sounding as though there was a barrier in the way. "Have you ever even made an _effort_ to do your homework the correct way?!"

Curious, Guilmon followed the sound of the voice and spotted a door with a window. Getting up, he looked into the classroom and found a bunch more humans—a single adult with a notebook raised as though to strike one of the many students surrounding him—but none of them were Takato. Shrugging his shoulders, he ducked back down and continued on his way, scraping the wood of the wall by accident with his claws as he did so.

He barely heard the teacher who looked out of the room to scope out the situation before retreating back inside with a sudden desire to start a discussion about 'what to do when you start seeing things that aren't really there'.

Continuing on his trek, he followed his nose, trying to discern Takato's scent from the multitude of others. It was surprisingly hard, but he was learning to tell the difference between old smells and new ones. Ah, already he was picking up a fresh scent, one of a human walking toward him.

_That's not Takatomon though,_ he thought, continuing on by as though nothing were wrong. The human—the principal of the school—did likewise… At first.

"Good morning, Cardboard Box," he greeted, before suddenly pausing in realization at how out of the ordinary that sounded to his ears. Turning, he saw that, yes, there was a cardboard box walking down the hallway…one with what appeared to be a red tail sticking out from the back.

Most unusual.

_Probably just a prank,_ he thought. Students were known for that sort of thing. Still, there was an order to things. "Student…" he coughed authoritatively, which caught the cardboard box's attention. That was a good sign. "Shouldn't you be in class?"

"I in a box!" the cardboard box replied in a childish voice. The man _harrumphed_ and approached the box in question. This little joke was 'amusing', but it was starting to lose its luster.

"What's your name?" he asked. The box abruptly turned around.

_"Guilmon!"_ it chirped rather happily, as if eager to make friends. "What's your name?"

"Well, my friends…" he began, taken aback by the question. Most people never asked him such a personal question. He quickly caught himself however. "Hey! I am the principal. That is all you need to know. Now what are you doing in the hall?"

_"Play time!"_ The box chirped again happily.

"You shouldn't be _playing!"_ the principal exclaimed, feeling a sudden burst of anger at this insubordinate attitude. This student—whoever he was—was going too far with this joke. "It's time for class now! And just what's with this cardboard box anyway?" He tapped the box for emphasis. Not waiting for an answer, he grabbed hold of the box and attempted to pull it off the 'student'. The box held fast to its owner though. "Take…it… _off!"_ he grunted between pulls.

"No!" Guilmon said from within, sounding serious. And he was. "Takatomon said to stay _in box!"_ Heaven forbid that he ignore his Tamer.

"My hernia…" the principal gasped, struggling with Guilmon, his face steadily turning red from the effort. "When you're at school, you obey the principal! When I say take off the box, you take off the box! Understand?!"

"Such a _strong_ little fella…" he muttered while Guilmon thought it over in his head. It didn't seem to make much sense to him, but from what he gathered there were places where someone's authority overruled that of his Tamer. After all, Takato had to attend this 'school' even though he didn't want to. _Maybe I should do the same? Maybe then I can play?_

"Hmmm… Hmmm… Okay!"

With that, the box flew off and the principal fell backward onto the floor with a crash. Guilmon burst out laughing at the sight.

"You fell down!" he exclaimed, giggling. "We play now?"

The only response was a sudden look of fear from the principal. Guilmon began to get worried as he tilted his head to one side. "Don't you wanna play?"

"A d-digimon!" the principal stammered as Guilmon's identifying himself earlier began to click in his mind. Crawling away, he nearly fell in his attempt to reach a nearby fire alarm. "A _digimon!"_

Staggering to his feet, he shattered the glass to the fire alarm and pressed the button, setting off the alarm. Confused, Guilmon looked around, not sure what to do now. The principal no longer seemed to be interested in playing and he still had to find Takatomo…

He sniffed the air as a new smell caught his attention.

Looking outside a nearby window, he saw where the school was preparing its lunches.

"Ah…" Guilmon drooled, a thought occurring to him. Where there was food, there was…

"Takatomon!"

**###**

Kari spun about in surprise at the fire alarm and all the students looked up with more than a few eyebrows raised. _There wasn't a fire drill planned for today,_ she thought. _Did something happen?_

She didn't see any smoke. Had there been a mistake? A prank?

"Looks like your socks set off the fire alarms again Kenta," Kazu joked in the background.

"Very funny," Kenta grumbled.

"I thought so," Kazu chuckled. Ignoring them, Kari took a quick look over the students, feeling uncertain as to what to do. On one hand, she was loath to leave them alone, but on the other…

"Uh… You kids stay here. I'll see what's going on!" With that, Kari turned and began to run toward the school.

Behind her, Takato looked worriedly in the direction of the school, his stomach feeling nauseous. The suspicion that he had from earlier, that he had seen the cardboard box containing his friend Guilmon wandering around the school, felt more and more like a certainty. It must have shown on his face, because Jeri looked over at him, her eyes full of concern.

"Hey Takato," she began as the sound of fire trucks started to resound upon the air. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah…" he replied uncertaintly. "…but… I gotta go."

Breaking away from the class, he immediately began to run toward the school.

Kazu, Kenta and Jeri watched him go with raised eyebrows.

"Whoa," Kazu observed. "Someone's had too much sugar."


	9. Episode 2: Hide and Found

Gatomon reached the scene of the crime in record time, her keen senses directing her in the direction of the digimon that she knew infiltrated the school.

Only she was a little too quick to get to the scene. No sooner was she rounding the corner did she find herself suddenly in the way of a large, crimson-scaled reptile barreling down on her at such a pace that she had no time to defend herself; only evade. Spinning on one heel like a ballerina, she 'danced' out of the path of the oncoming dinosaur, her back hitting the wall with a gentle _thud._

"Hey! Watch where you're going!" she exclaimed upon regaining her footing. At that, the digimon stopped dead in his tracks and turned toward her, gold eyes wide and innocent looking. He didn't seem to understand where he was or what kind of trouble he was causing by being here.

_A wild digimon…_ thought Gatomon. _I've never seen one like him before._

"Ahhh… Sorry?" the digimon asked, tilting his head to one side. "I didn't see you there." Almost immediately a smile broke across his face. "Oh! Do you wanna play?"

_Typical…_ Gatomon thought, shaking her head with a small smile. _Young digimon always think about playing. Well, that makes things easier for me._

"About that…" Gatomon said, approaching the wild digimon. She took a look around, grimacing. The hallway was rapidly filling up with students and teachers, all of whom were now getting a good look at the digimon. "I need you to stay with me. You're in a bit of trouble right now."

The digimon suddenly looked alarmed. "Hah?! I'm in trouble? What'd I do?" His bat-like ears drooped and he hung his head. "Ohhh… Takatomon told me to stay out of trouble too…"

_Takatomon…? What kind of digimon…_ began Gatomon before realizing that the digimon was flubbing a human's name, most likely the human he was partnered with. She thought about the way the digimon entered the school grounds. He almost seemed to be _looking_ for someone. _I'll bet it's this Takato he's talking about… Hmmm… Doesn't Kari have a student named Takato in her class?_

She could already see her partner reaching for the aspirin at the thought. _Well… If that's the case, I can't hide it from her. Takato's going to need someone to help show him the ropes._

Reaching out, Gatomon took hold of Guilmon's arm. "I know someone who can help you find _Takatomon._ If you could…"

_"Gatomon!"_

_Speak of the Devimon…_

Turning, Gatomon saw Kari rushing up the stairs, panting slightly. Her eyes widened in alarm upon seeing the crimson digimon, but Gatomon was quick to intervene.

"Kari!" she exclaimed. "We need to find Takato…"

"Takato…?!" Kari blinked in bewilderment, still trying to grasp what was going on. There was a digimon in this school and…

"I think they're partners!" Gatomon said in a hushed voice. "We also need to call Ken right away. I'll…take this…ah…" Gatomon looked back at the digimon. "What's your name?"

"Guilmon…" he said, looking around him worriedly at the students now pointing fingers at him in amazement.

"I'll take Guilmon to the Principal's office so we can sort this out."

"Uh…" Kari looked back and forth between Gatomon, the digimon, and the crowd gathering before finally settling on her partner. After only a moment of thought, she nodded. If nothing else, she could trust Gatomon, headaches aside.

"I'll call him on the PA system," she said quickly changing directions.

**###**

Terriermon stood at the corner just barely out of sight as he watched Gatomon escort the Guilmon away, the large dino being surprisingly compliant with the cool, cat Champion. Most Wild digimon he had encountered in his life and seen on the news tended to be…well…considerably less cooperative, and he half thought he was going to have to get involved.

Fortunately the digimon acquiesced readily at the promise of finding some digimon named _Takatomon—_ as alien-sounding a digimon as the Guilmon himself.

He was snapped out of his thoughts by a hand grabbing hold of one ear and tugging on it lightly.

"How many times do I have to tell you, Terriermon. You've got to stay hidden!" Henry admonished his partner under his breath as he rounded a corner. Terriermon ducked behind his partner's legs.

"I _was_ staying hidden, Henry!" Terriermon snapped back in a hushed whisper. "Momentai already! Everyone's too busy too busy looking at dinomon over there to even notice me."

"Even so," Henry replied, giving the crimson dinosaur digimon a once over as it disappeared down the stairs. "I'd rather not take the chance of anyone seeing you. Especially _that_ digimon. Who knows what it might do? It's a Wild One."

"Relax… Gatomon's got it under control."

Henry opened his mouth to say more, but whatever words he had were lost as a boy with light-brown hair ran by him and stopped at the corner to scope out the situation, a panicked look on his face. His eyes widened in horror as he spotted something—Henry assumed the cardboard box as he had just missed the digimon—before he whispered only one word; a name. "Guilmon…"

"Huh?" Henry blinked, focusing on him.

The boy turned right around and ran off before Henry could say anything to stop him. Looking down at Terriermon, the pair nodded to each other before following in pursuit.

**###**

Takato was panicking.

"Did you see that digimon?" he heard one student say as he wove his way through the throng of students.

"A…digimon?" he asked, more to himself than to anyone else.

"Yeah…" a student replied to the asker. "It was so _red!_ I've never seen a digimon like that before!"

_Red…? Oh no… Please don't be Guilmon… Please don't be Guilmon… Please don't be Guilmon!_

Nearing the center of attention, he finally got a good enough look at the evidence that caused him to draw up short in horror. Guilmon's cardboard box, lying on the floor.

_Guilmon… What have you done?_

The answer was obvious of course. Guilmon had disobeyed orders and came looking for him. Quickly spinning around, Takato raced back in the opposite direction.

"Guilmon…" he whispered. This was bad. He had _no_ license for being partnered to a digimon. There had been no government involvement to ensure that Guilmon was safe to live with humans. Guilmon was an unauthorized Wild One living amongst humans. If he was caught he might never see him again. _If_ he was caught…

With a wild desperation, Takato threw himself outside. _Where could he have gone? I've got to find him!_

There was one possibility; namely the cafeteria or the kitchen. Digimon loved food, and he had a feeling that Guilmon was a bigger eater than most digimon.

"Guilmon!" he shouted, not caring who heard him. He just wanted to make sure that his digimon was safe. "Where are you?!"

No answer came to him. At once the pangs of doubt crept into his heart, causing him to slow and look down at the ground. _What if I never find him again? Why'd you have to come to school? Everyone's going to find out about you and you'll be taken away from me for sure…_

Depression broke across his face as he felt his will disintegrating under his fear. It was over. His journey was done before it had even started because he was too careless in taking care of his digimon. Now he was gone and there was nothing he could do about it.

"Guilmon…" he whispered dejectedly, his shoulders sagging. "Why'd you have to run away?"

"Did you say Guilmon?"

"Huh?" Looking up, Takato found Ms. Kari Kamiya approaching him, a stern look on her face and a bit flushed, as though she had run a great distance to find him. Now that he thought about it, she seemed to be breathing a bit harder than normal.

"You said Guilmon, well didn't you?"

"Ah…" Takato blanched, not sure what to say. Ms. Kamiya was a digidestined and was known to have her digimon on school grounds. Gatomon was nowhere to be seen right now though.

Kari approached him, giving him a small, gentle smile that seemed almost alien to Takato. He couldn't remember the last time she had smiled.

"It's okay, Takato," she said. "Gatomon found your _Guilmon_ wandering the halls and has him in the principal's office. He hasn't hurt anyone. We just need to sort this out and everything will be fine. _Are_ you his partner?"

She hesitated to ask, almost not wanting it to be true. The memories of the war were still very much close to her mind. This was Takato as well, a boy she had to give detention for on a few occasions for not paying attention in class or for being late.

Yet, seeing the look on his face…she felt that it was true. There was no denying it. So that left the question of…what to do about it?

Takato felt his mouth tremble as a thousand emotions crashed together in his head. Feeling tears well up in his eyes, he quickly rubbed an arm over his face, hoping to quell them, but failing. That was all the answer Kari needed. Seeing this, she felt sympathy for the boy, remembering the days when she was his age and desperately trying to keep Gatomon a secret. It had been easier to pass Gatomon off as a pet cat or a stuffed toy—most of their digimon had it easy compared to Guilmon, who was significantly larger by comparison—but they all worried about what might happen if they were discovered.

_Somehow I'm willing to bet he doesn't have a license for him,_ she thought, placing one hand on his back and guiding him back toward the school.

That was all right though, she felt, making a decision. She knew someone who could help out with that.

**###**

_"Guilmon!"_

They found the crimson dinosaur guarded by Gatomon just staring out the window as they entered the office. At once, Guilmon spun around, and upon seeing Takato, the crimson dinosaur lunged at Takato, who was already breaking away from Kari and running toward him.

"Takatomon!" Guilmon cried happily, leaping into the air and tackling the boy. "Hey!"

They collapsed into a heap together, the crimson dinosaur immediately setting to work bathing his partner with his tongue.

"Okay boy, okay…" Takato said, pushing his partner off. Kari smiled at the sight in spite of herself and went over to where Gatomon stood, eyeing the pair with concern.

"Kari," she greeted.

"Where's the principal?" Kari asked. Gatomon sniffed disdainfully.

"Taking a catnap. Guilmon gave him quite the scare it seems."

Kari couldn't help but giggle a little, something that surprised her as laughter of that sort came less and less as time wore on. Today was a day of events it seemed.

_Takato…_ She still couldn't believe it. The very thought threatened to give her a headache. Takato was hardly her most outstanding student, lying somewhere around mediocre in the class rankings. Not bad, but he didn't stand out either.

Yet, for some reason, seeing him together with this strange digimon, she couldn't help but feel that this was _right._ She couldn't explain it why she felt this way, but…

_In spite of his tears…_ she thought, taking out her cell phone and looking through her address book. _He actually looks…mature._

As she began dialing, Takato sat up as Guilmon backed off slightly, still smiling.

"Guilmon…" Takato said. His eyes were red and puffy from his crying. His emotions were a mess too, but with Guilmon in front of him and all right, he felt as though he were on more solid ground; focused. Reaching up, he took hold of Guilmon and pulled him in for a hug. Guilmon looked surprised by this movement and was quick to return the gesture, but immediately became worried.

"Oh? What's wrong? What's wrong?" Pulling away, he touched a claw to Takato's face, taking note of the boy's tears. "Ohhh… Your eyes are leaking Takatomon… Why?"

Sniffing, Takato worked to get control of himself. Fixing Guilmon with a firm look, he steeled himself. "Just listen. If we're going to be digimon and his Tamer…" That word again. Yes, it felt right. "…you've got to listen to me more. You've got to try harder to stay out of trouble."

Guilmon tilted his head to one side as he considered this. "And then…you play? With me?"

A relieved smile crept across Takato's face and he nodded. "Yeah…"

They sat like that for a moment, both of them sorting out their thoughts and emotions. Finally, Guilmon spoke.

"Takatomon… I need a new box."


	10. Interlude 2: The Man on the Moon is You

Slowly… Ever so slowly… Matt cracked his eyes open, finding himself staring up at the starry night sky. He could feel a bone-deep pain in every part of his body, but nothing that prevented him from moving. With a groan, he sat up…and found himself staring at the blue, planetary marble rising over a dust-yellow horizon. His mouth fell open in surprise, and for one long moment he was lost in the tranquil visage that was the rise of a world. The digital world.

_That's right…_ he remembered, finally breaking his gaze away and massaging the back of his neck. _We were in a huge fight with an Apocalymon…and…_ He turned, finding Gabumon, lying on the ground behind him and looking none the worse for wear alongside their spacecraft which was decidedly…the worst end of wear.

"Gabumon!" Matt exclaimed, trying to stand up but nearly collapsing as pain blazed through his body at the motion. He drew in a sharp breath, clutching at an arm. _Feels like I broke something…_

"You'll be all right," came the voice of Tai as he came out from the wreckage of the spacecraft, bearing a tray of food. "Gabumon too. We're lucky that we're in the digital world. Otherwise we'd be…well…you already know."

"Splat," Matt nodded, still checking on Gabumon just to be sure. He ran a hand through his partner's fur and the digimon responded with a happy sigh and a nuzzle. Smiling, Matt withdrew and set himself back down. "Izzy…?"

"In the spacecraft trying to get things to work so he can touch base with Tentomon." He set the tray down next to Matt. "So… Tentomon is on the Internet now. When did that become a thing?"

"A little while after we were separated. Izzy was…kind of desperate, so he took a page from Diaboromon." He fixed Tai with a hard look. "You missed out on a lot."

"Yeah," Tai nodded in agreement. "I know."

Matt felt a spark of anger at that. "That's _it?!_ That's _all_ you have to say? It's been fifteen years!"

Tai peeled back the wrapping on the food tray and grimaced at how unappetizing the meal looked as a paste. "Do you want to punch me again?"

"You're damned right I do!"

Tai chuckled. "Fine. You can do it later when you don't look like you're ready to fall over. You eat this stuff?"

"Tai… Do you know what you're leaving _did_ to us?! We all thought you were _dead!"_

"I know," Tai said. "Information comes my way every now and then." He grinned. "Congrats by the way on getting married. You and Sora look great together. Sorry I couldn't make the wedding or send a gift. I saw the pictures though."

"Will you _stop_ trying to change the subject?" Matt demanded heatedly, staggering to his feet. At this rate he was going to end up punching Tai regardless of how he felt. "You _owe_ us an explanation!"

"Yeah…" Tai replied with another nod. "I guess I do." He pointed at the meal. "Are you going to eat that?"

"For the love of…" Matt collapsed back to the ground, kicking up a small cloud of digital moon dust as he did so. Tai was acting…odd to say the least. He wondered if his being in the digital world for so long had anything to do with that. "Why did you leave?"

Tai poked a finger into some brown paste and stuck it in his mouth. His eyebrows lit up in surprise. "This is good! Beef?"

Matt gave him a deadpan look. "Tai… Was this because of Sora?"

He felt his heart thump painfully in his chest at that. The one question whose answer he feared hearing the most. He knew it was Sora's mind too and it left a dark cloud over their marriage that he felt even during their most passionate lovemaking.

Tai took a moment to savor the flavor before swallowing. He looked down longingly at the food, looking as though he were restraining himself from wolfing it down before leaning back, his fingers disappearing into the lunar dust.

"Finally got around to asking that question, huh? Took you long enough."

"You keep dodging mine," Matt shot back. Tai gave him a lazy smile.

"Just a little," he replied before turning his gaze up at the rising digital world. His expression hardened as he continued. "But you know that they weren't going to stop coming. Especially _him._ Dragomon."

"Don't bullshit me, Tai. Dragomon is dead. We destroyed him."

"How many times did we kill Myotismon?" Tai asked. "How many times did Milleniummon bring back old enemies we destroyed?"

Matt set his teeth together. He couldn't fault him there. Milleniummon was a unique case, but digimon were notoriously difficult to permanently put down, especially at the higher levels where they had greater power and control over the structure of their data.

"Kari misses you, Tai," he said finally. "We all do, but she misses you a lot. She was never the same after you left."

Tai closed his eyes. For a moment, Matt saw Tai's hands shake, but they quickly stilled.

"When I left," he said finally, "I thought she was never going to be the same. Not after what the Dark Ocean tried to do to her. And after what they did to TK when he tried to protect her." He shook his head. "I just remember being angry and wanting to get back at them for everything. The War… Kari… All the people and digimon who were killed. Agumon and I almost lost ourselves doing it… Fighting them I mean." He ran a hand through his hair. "Well… BlackWarGreymon _isn't_ a bad form to take, I mean… We just had to learn the hard way that it wasn't what we needed. Vaccines over Viruses after all…"

"You _dark digivolved?!"_ Matt was aghast.

"By accident," Tai admitted. "Well, the first time was anyway. We didn't know that the digital world had…"

"Tai!" Agumon's voice came from the spacecraft, causing both men to turn, finding the little orange dinosaur standing at the gaping hole of the crew module, waving his claws.

"What's up, Agumon?" Tai called back.

"Izzy says he's connected with Tentomon again!"

Tai and Matt exchanged looks. "Guess we'll have to finish this up later," the Digidestined of Courage said, getting up and dusting himself off. "We still have a war to fight."

"One last thing," Matt said, joining him. "Are you going to come home? The war has been over for fifteen years."

Tai narrowed his eyes at Matt. "What are you on, Matt? You know as well as I do that the War never ended. Only the villains change."

Before Matt could say anything further, Tai headed off to the spacecraft. Shaking his head, Matt quickly fell into step behind him.

_I have no idea how I'm going to explain this to the others once we get home,_ he thought as they crawled into the craft, taking care so as to not upset the ship's balance.

"What's the news, Izzy?" Tai asked, grabbing hold of a chair and hauling himself up. The ship was…difficult to navigate now that it was on a gravitational body. Not impossible, but annoying all the same.

"Tentomon has some news for us," Izzy replied, giving Tai only the briefest of glances before pointing to his laptop. Somehow it had managed to survive the impact.

_"It is good to see you all again,"_ Tentomon's image greeted, saluting them with a claw.

"You too," Tai smiled. "I thought for sure you were a goner."

_"What can I say? Izzy has a way with numbers. Anyway, I've turned Earth and Lunar satellites to our area. It would appear that there is a dimensional distortion in the area that we were in the real world. Tai, I imagine that it was caused by Apocalymon…?"_

Tai nodded. "All Apocalymon do. It…kind of depends on how much power they have or something like that. At least that's what I was told by Gennai…"

"Gennai knew you were in the digital world?" Izzy asked, shocked. "I've kept in touch with him ever since the War ended and he never mentioned you."

"I…asked him not to," Tai said, looking a bit embarrassed. "I was doing a lot of stupid things at the time."

"Like that's anything out of the ordinary," Matt said sardonically, folding his arms together as he took a gander outside of the hole to see how Gabumon was doing. Tai and Agumon shot him a look before returning to Izzy and Tentomon.

"Anyway, I was investigating the distortion. I had heard rumors that the elite group of digimon called _The Nightmare Soldiers_ had survived the War and were up to something. I've been encountering some of them here and there. They're definitely focused on the real world for some reason. I'm not sure why…" He frowned briefly before continuing. "Anyway, Apocalymon got tired of my snooping around and decided to just cut to the chase and take me down personally. I was trying to jump dimensions and then suddenly wound up in here."

He banged his knuckles against the hull of _Friendship One_ for emphasis.

_"A good thing you ended up in here,"_ Tentomon pointed out. _"I hear it's a bit chilly in space."_

Tai gave a sharp laugh.

"It's possible that Apocalymon's presence caused enough of a distortion to weaken the barriers between the worlds," Izzy suggested, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Combined with the fact that our digivices normally home in on each other, yours may have attempted to autocorrect and simply found the closest equivalent to a gate signal it could find." He turned toward Tai. "Well, either way, you're here now. It's the getting home that's the problem now. The gates have been closed to us for years."

Tai grinned. "I know of a gate we can use."

Izzy and Matt's eyebrows rose up at that. "Where?"

"Welll…" Tai drawled out, suddenly looking embarrassed. "I do, but I just remembered that it's all the way back in the digital world. We're on a moon."

"Stupid Tai…" Matt sighed.

_"I fail to see how that will help us,"_ said Tentomon. _"Fortunately breathing in space isn't a problem as long as we're in the digital world's dimension, but getting to the digital world is a different matter."_

"Not necessarily. Tai did say that he traveled through different dimensions…"

"Different digital worlds," Tai cut in over Izzy. "It doesn't act like a warp drive or anything either. I'm not sure how it works really. I only know that it gets me from digital dimension to digital dimension, and there are a _lot_ of them."

He glanced out the hole in _Friendship One,_ contemplating the rising digital world. "I think we're in the Realm of the Celestials. If we're lucky we might be able to catch a lift on a Trailmon."

"We can't depend on 'what-ifs' and 'maybe's' right now," Matt said irritably. "Izzy, did you get a hold of JAXA and tell them about our situation?"

_"I already took that liberty,"_ Tentomon replied, raising a claw. _"I've been sending them regular reports and they've informed me that they're working on a solution. However…"_

"…however help may take a while," Izzy finished for his partner. "Like it or not Matt, we're stuck in digital space until we can either get the gates open again or go to where Tai says there's one available. Which means…"

"Which means we'll have to travel the old fashioned way," Matt nodded. "With WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon." He turned toward Gabumon's direction. The wolf-digimon was still unconscious. "That might take a while."

"It's better than nothing," Tai said, dropping down to join him. "It could be worse. I mean…" He stopped and his gaze changed focus, as if spying something off in the distance. A worried expression fell over his face and he immediately pulled back his cloak to dig into his pants pocket.

"Tai?" Matt asked, slightly alarmed at his friend's sudden change in mood.

"Just a second," Tai replied, bringing up his old mini-telescope.

"I can't believe you dragged that old thing with you to the digital world," Matt said with false sarcasm. "And that you haven't destroyed it yet."

"Trying to focus Matt…" Tai grated, adjusting his telescope. Matt squinted his eyes, trying to see whatever it was his friend was seeing. After what felt like an eternity, he thought he saw something moving against the background of the digital world.

_"Uh…"_ began Tentomon, seeming to pick up on the tension in the craft. _"I don't mean to alarm anyone, but I'm still detecting the spatial warp left by Apocalymon."_

"Wait, does that mean we can go home?" asked Matt. Lowering his telescope, Tai shook his head.

"Here," he said, passing it off to the Digidestined of Friendship. "Take a look."

Tai pointed indicatively as Matt took the telescope and raised it to an eye. "What am I looking for?" he began, swinging it around in the direction Tai was pointing. There didn't seem to be…

_Is that…? Oh! Oh… Oh shit…_

Matt felt his blood grow cold as the telescope fell squarely on the familiar polygon floating across the sea of digital blue. A remnant of Apocalymon. "How…?" Suddenly he remembered Apocalymon's voice coming from the darkness just before their violent impact with the moon.

_"Over…? You believe this to be over?"_

_"To think my work can be undone by a digimon of his caliber… You know better than that, Digidestined of Knowledge. I shall show you your error!"_

"Of course…" Matt grated, lowering the telescope. "Why would it be that easy?"

"We've got to get out there _now!"_ Tai said, pulling out his digivice. "Agumon?"

Agumon nodded fiercely and the pair immediately began to run forward.

"Wha…? Tai! Wait! We need a plan!" Suddenly lashing out, he snatched Tai by the arm and yanked him to a halt. The brown-haired man pulled free and fixed him with a harsh glare, but as yet didn't resume his run.

"Matt…" he began, only for the blond to interrupt him.

"I know you're used to working without us now, but we're here too!"

Tai was silent for a moment before giving a small smile. "No _I_ in team, right?" He turned in the direction of Apocalymon's remaining data. As he watched, a fog of darkness began to grow around it, growing in size until it obscured the digital world.

"We need to wake Gabumon up," he said. "I think Apocalymon's going to reformat."

**###**

As he walked through the halls of Shinjuku Elementary alongside Ken, Davis looked around furtively, fidgeting a little with his digivice.

"Davis… Will you settle down?" DemiVeemon complained from his spot atop Davis' head. "You're making me dizzy.

"What's wrong Davis?" Ken asked, giving his friend a concerned look as they turned down a corner.

"Nothing," Davis replied, giving his friend a lop-sided grin that fooled no one. Ken let it go however, already guessing as to what was the cause behind the Digidestined's unusual emotional weather. To say that Davis had the jitters was a bit of an understatement.

_It's been a while since I last saw Kari,_ Davis thought. _I mean, sure I've kept in touch, it's just that I've been so busy running my business that I've had a hard time seeing her in person. The last time I saw her was… Oh man. When was it? I didn't even make the last Digidestined Reunion._

Davis felt awful. He _never_ missed reunions. Everyone had understood of course as no one could expect to attend _every_ meeting (Kari missed a few herself over the years) but to him it weighed heavily on his conscience. To him, it was the closest to what made him feel like he was accomplishing something by staying connected to everyone—so that they could all be called back together at a moment's notice when the digital world was in danger.

At least, that's what he told himself when he was fifteen years younger. Then fourteen. Then thirteen. Then twelve. And on, and on and on until it was just one year ago.

It just hurt him sometimes to see Kari, and to feel how helpless he was to do anything to help her.

_There used to be a time where I was happy being who I was. It's not there anymore._

They arrived at the principal's office finally and opened the door to find Kari and Gatomon, alongside a large crimson dinosaur with a human boy. Putting on a false smile, Davis gave a wave at his friend.

"Hey Kari! How's it hanging?"

Seeing him, Kari gave him a small nod to go with an equally small smile.

"Davis," she greeted. "Fancy seeing you here." She looked at Ken. "You two are working together now?"

"Davis didn't tell you?" Ken asked, glancing at his friend, who merely shrugged his shoulders.

"I…might have forgot. I've been busy."

"Well…either way," Ken resumed. "We are. So what's the situation? A new Wild One?"

"You might say that," Kari said. "Ken, this is Takato Matsuki, a student of mine." She gestured to the boy and the digimon next to him, both of whom were looking at Ken and Davis with wide eyes, though whose were wider was up to debate. "Takato, these are two very good friends of mine, Davis Motomiya and Ken Ichijouji." She chuckled. "You already know them I imagine."

"Ah…" Takato's head went up and down, still in stunned amazement. He knew them all right. Just about _everyone_ knew them. They were legends. Digidestined leaders who fought in the Great War against the Darkness. Their combined digimon, Imperialdramon, was legendary. Words formed in his brain, but his lips could not put them out. He was just so overcome by awe.

_Three Digidestined?! Three of the great legends are right here in front of me! C'mon Takato… Say something! Anything!_

"Takato?" Guilmon asked, looking at him with a bit of confusion. He couldn't understand why he was suddenly so quiet. Turning toward the taller humans, he saw the blue and white digimon sitting atop one of their heads.

_That looks like fun,_ he thought, trying to imagine himself doing that with Takato. "Hey…" he began, pointing a claw at DemiVeemon. "You're tiny."

"Eh?!" DemiVeemon squeaked before standing up indignantly and folding his small, stumpy arms over his chest. "Hey! I'm just overdue for a growth spurt!"

"Hmmm…" Kari pursed her lips together at the boy's lack of response. "Anyway, It would appear that these two have become partners, but Takato doesn't have a license."

"Hmmm…" Ken nodded. "And this digimon has a Hazard sign on his chest." _Takeru wouldn't like that…_ he added mentally, but chose not to mention that. "Kari, may we speak privately?"

"Of course," Kari said looking down at Gatomon, who nodded.

"Davis, you two can keep an eye on Takato."

"Uh…sure." Raising an eyebrow, Davis' gaze followed the two as they left the room for the hallway. Not exactly the most private of locations, but they were afforded something reminiscent of it for the time being. As the door clicked shut, he turned back toward Takato.

"So…" he began awkwardly. "How'd you two meet?"

"Ah… Um…" Takato squirmed in his seat and scratched the side of his face. "Well… It's a long story…"

**###**

"You're asking me to run around the usual channels to get him a license for a digimon," Ken said flatly, deciding to cut straight to the chase.

"I…" Kari began before nodding reluctantly. "Yes."

"There's an order to this you know," Ken said. "If I get caught issuing licenses without going through the proper procedures…"

"You've done it before," Kari said, folding her arms over her chest. "There's a student in Mr. Mori's class who has a digimon. You helped him out when his Terriermon bio-emerged." She tilted her head to one side. "I remember Yolei saying something about that."

Ken scowled at Kari. "Yes," he admitted. He was going to have to have a talk with his wife later about discussing his work with others, but for now… "He had a different digivice from our D-3's. I don't trust Hypnos when it comes to dealing with digimon and newly partnered humans. There are limits though. Terriermon digimon tend to be benign. I don't know anything about this digimon. He's…big for starters and I've never seen him in any of our data bases. And he has a _Hazard_ sign on his chest. That is usually bad. Remember Lucemon?"

"I do," Kari nodded, tightening her hands together. "But as far as I know, Lucemon was never partnered with a human. Do you think the digital world would have partnered him with such a digimon if either of them were going to be a danger to it?"

"Takato's a good kid," Gatomon remarked from Kari's ankle, placing her paws on her hips. "He's not the _best_ of Kari's students, but he doesn't have an evil bone in his body."

"But he's also at an age where he's vulnerable to the forces of darkness," Ken pointed out. "We may have won the last war, but it's only a matter of time before the next one. You know as well as I do that digidestined aren't immune to being corrupted."

"It's also not impossible to help them when they are," Kari said pointedly, feeling a little angry. "Or have you forgotten?"

"I didn't, but we were kids then and the digital world was a lot more off the radar then it is now."

"So you won't help me?"

"I didn't say I wouldn't," Ken sighed. "And I didn't say that I can't. But it risks compromising my ability to help _other_ partnered children. I mediate between civilians and Hypnos, but Hypnos has all the power. If I step out of line too far or too much and make broad, risky decisions, they may decide to step in personally and _that_ would be bad. With my record, I have a hard enough time finding wiggle room as it is."

"Ken…" Kari said, her face setting itself in a determined expression. _"I_ will take personal responsibility for Takato's safety and wellbeing. I am his teacher. It won't be difficult to keep an eye on him. If TK…" She nearly caught her breath on his name, but she steeled herself and continued. "If _Takeru_ has a problem with that, he can come see me himself."

_For once,_ she added mentally.

Ken and Kari locked eyes for one long moment before Ken reached into his jacket pocket and withdrew a small card. Taking out a pen, he scribbled a date on it.

"Here," he said, handing it to her. "This is a temporary license. It should keep your student out of trouble while I sort things out…or until time runs out on this. I can't guarantee that I'll be able to help him, and if something serious happens I _won't_ be able to protect him. Keep that in mind, all right?"

Kari breathed a mental sigh of relief. "Thank you Ken."

**###**

Reentering the Principal's office, they found Davis regaling Takato with a story from his time as a Digidestined.

"…and then Arukenimon ran by telling us that she was going to be back to 'destroy us in a minute' like she was our mom or something!" Davis laughed. "I was like, "Destiny Stones can break my bones but you guys are real losers!"

"It wasn't really your best, Davis," Kari joked as they closed the door behind them. Approaching Takato, she handed him the temporary license. "I've spoken to Ken and he's agreed to work on getting you a permanent license."

"Really?" Takato rose to his feet, a smile growing on his face. Quickly remembering himself he bowed deeply to the three adults. "Thank you! _Thank_ you!"

Guilmon, standing next to him, looked on in confusion for a second before copying the gesture. He didn't understand why Takato was bowing, but since he was doing it, it seemed like something he should do as well.

_I've got to listen to Takatomon,_ he reminded himself. _He knows what to do._

"Now there's just the matter of your parents," Kari began thoughtfully, causing Takato's eyes to widen in fear. "Something wrong, Takato?"

"Ah…well… The thing is…my…parents don't know about Guilmon. And they don't think I'm old enough to have pets…not to mention that we can't have pets in our home. Plus my mom is a bit…afraid of digimon."

That wasn't exactly true, at least as far as he knew since she never expressed any fear of digimon, but he had an idea that she would _not_ be thrilled to find out that he had a partner.

"We'll work out something," she said, looking over at Ken, who scowled at her.

"It can be done," he admitted. "But it's going to take longer. And Hypnos is the only place that has shelters for digimon, but they're usually reserved for non-partnered digimon and even then they have to have caused trouble."

"Guilmon won't cause any trouble!" Takato protested heatedly, stepping in front of Guilmon protectively. The dinosaur digimon looked baffled at his partner's sudden distress and not understanding the cause of it. He was quick to add his affirmation though with a rapid nod of his head.

"Uh-huh! I won't do anything bad! I promise!"

"Hey, take it easy there," Davis said, raising his hands in a placating gesture. "We're not saying that we're going to just hand Guilmon over to the government or anything. Are we Ken?"

"No, but he needs a place of residence. Kari?"

"I'm afraid not at my apartment," Kari sighed. "I get by because Gatomon can pretend to be a cat. Digital dinosaurs are a…different story."

"I'll find a way," Takato insisted. "I promise, I won't let you down. I swear! Just give me a chance!"

Davis turned toward the other two adults, smiling at them. "What do you guys think? I'm all for giving them a shot."

Ken and Kari exchanged looks before Ken heaved a heavy sigh.

"All right," he surrendered. "But I want you to report in to your teacher about what you're doing at least once a day and to contact her whenever you have a problem. You _have_ to keep in contact with her. Is that understood?"

"Yes sir!"

Ken nodded, but he wanted to make absolutely sure Takato understood the situation and what he needed to do in order to have a permanent license. "Then here are the rest of the ground rules that we need to lay down…"

**###**

"Guilmon, stop that!" Takato laughed as he and the crimson dinosaur made their way down the paths of Shinjuku Park.

"But if we're not here to chase squirrels then why are we here?" Guilmon asked, turning away from said animal as it scurried up a tree and chattered angrily at him. "I like squirrels."

"Didn't you hear back at the school? We need a place for you to hide out when I'm at school and stuff." He looked around. "And this place seemed like a good choice because not a lot of people come here."

It _was_ a good idea, though like his license it was not a permanent one. Japanese law could be a bit murky when it came to the rights of digimon—even after fifteen years—but it _did_ recognize partner digimon as living creatures that were entitled to care by their humans. Having shelter was one such right, and until Takato found a way to work things out with his parents, he needed a temporary solution.

_I'm glad that I get to keep Guilmon at least,_ he thought, smiling at his partner as they entered a wide open, sandy field with a metal fence bordering it.

"Hmmm… Pretty," Guilmon observed. Takato nodded, but…

"Nah, this feels too out in the open," he said. "Where can we hide you?" He rested his chin in his hand thoughtfully, starting to regret not waiting for Ms. Kamiya to finish her work so she could help him look. He hadn't wanted to wait though, making this a potential lesson in having patience. Still, he had plenty of time to find a place. "Hmmm… Uh…"

He stopped and looked up at the sky, still pondering. It was at that moment that Guilmon suddenly turned and growled as a shadow fell over them.

"Huh?" Takato said, catching a glimpse of movement just in time to see a yellow blur smash into Guilmon, sending him falling back into the fence, nearly crushing it in the process. The blur flipped away and landed on a tree branch, becoming a bit more readily visible. In his mind, Takato identified it as a Renamon, but so indignant at the unprovoked attack it didn't register.

"Heeey!" Takato exclaimed just as a red-haired girl stepped out from behind the tree line, a cool, almost disdainful look on her face as she eyed the pair.

"What a lousy fighter," she said in disappointment. "But a fight's a fight."

"Wha…?!" Takato's eyes widened as he suddenly recognized the girl. _No…no way! This can't be! She's…real?!_

"But I… I _dreamt_ you!"

"Hmmm?" The girl raised an eyebrow at him but quickly disregarded his words. "So what?" she asked. "It's time to fight, so clam up!" As Takato looked on in utter confusion and fear, he looked up at the digimon above the girl as she rose to her full height on the branch. "Renamon! Walk _all over him!"_


	11. Episode 3: The Fox and the Hound

"Hey Ken," began Davis as they made their way down the park path. "What do you think of that new kid? Will you really be able to get him a permanent license?"

Ken shrugged nonchalantly, being somewhat lost in his thoughts. "Probably, as long as his digimon remains on his best behavior. But…" He frowned. "The hazard sign worries me."

Davis nodded, remembering the last time they faced down a digimon with that symbol branded on their body. Lucemon—an angelic digimon whose name was based on the mythological Lucifer—had taken control of a segment of the digital world. He seemingly did fine at the time as he ended a civil war that had been raging there for years, but soon became tyrannical, oppressing digimon until the Digidestined and a group of Mega digimon fought him and his servants, capturing him in a Dark Area prison. Lucemon had only been at the Rookie level, but he had been tremendously powerful.

He shuddered to think of how strong Lucemon would have been had he been at a higher level.

"Izzy said that digimon with a hazard sign are supposed to be pretty dangerous," Davis said.

"Yeah!" DemiVeemon giggled from atop the man's head. "That's why they have a hazard on them genius!"

"Lay off," Davis rebuked before returning to Ken. "But he seemed okay. Kind of like a kid. I mean, Takato _did_ say that he created him…"

Ken nearly missed a step at that. Whirling about, he fixed Davis with a sharp glare. "Takato did _what?"_

_Uh oh…_ "Um… He created Guilmon?"

"And you didn't say _anything?!"_

"Chill out, Ken," Davis said, backing up and raising his hands in a placating gesture. "I'm sorry. Kari said that she wanted to give the kid a chance. He seems nice enough."

"Davis…" Ken groaned, pressing a hand against his head. "This changes a lot of things…"

Davis raised an eyebrow at that. "How?"

"Well…for starters…" Ken began, but his words fumbled, seemingly unable to describe what the issue was. Guessing at what was going on in his friend's mind, Davis took a more confident step toward his friend.

"This is about when you were the Digimon Emperor, isn't it? When you created Kimeramon."

Ken fixed Davis with another harsh look, but the anger was definitely dissipating.

"Yes," he replied after a moment. "You recall what I've told you about that, right? How Devimon's darkness was consuming me? Kimeramon was little more than a weapon—a tool—with no other purpose than to destroy my opponents." He flinched at his words, but he pressed onward. "A program hardwired into a digimon shell-body, and when I showed just a little bit of mercy, the darkness I had empowered him with took control."

Davis nodded, remembering those days. They were a black eye on Ken's life. He had to live everyday with the knowledge that he caused untold amounts of pain and suffering in his bid to rule the entire digital world. It hadn't been his fault, as he had been infected with a Dark Spore from an adventure he had prior to the Digimon Emperor War, causing his mind to steadily unravel over time as it simultaneously increased his abilities, but the fact remained that his hands had been the means to cause so much destruction. From his mind was birthed Kimeramon, and it weighed on him daily.

"Ken," Davis began, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder. "For all we know this could be completely different. If you're that worried about it though, can we get him checked out?"

"We already are," Ken said, turning back down the path. "I have Wormmon shadowing him as we speak. He'll contact us in case there's a problem."

As if on cue, Ken's cell phone rang. Taking it out, he hit the reply button. "Wormmon?" he asked. "What's wrong?"

_"We have a problem…"_ Wormmon began worriedly.

**###**

Unreality washed over Takato as he struggled to understand what was going on. One second ago, he and Guilmon had been looking for a place where Guilmon could stay, and in the next they were being attacked by a Renamon partnered with a girl that Takato swore only existed in his dreams. He clapped a hand on his forehead in an attempt to make either reality or his brain make some kind of sense of it all. Unfortunately, neither seemed to be cooperating.

"I saw you in my dream," he repeated, shaking his head. "No way, it can't be!"

The red-haired girl—Rika—tilted her head to one side, a bit unsettled by the notion that this _boy_ dreamt about her in any fashion. _Creep,_ she thought. "So, you're a lousy Tamer _and_ you're weird," she berated. "Now amscray, unless you think you can handle us, _little_ boy?"

That got Takato's blood boiling as he took a step toward her. "I am not either a _lousy Tamer_ and what do you mean _little boy?"_ he shouted angrily. "I…uh…" he deflated somewhat as he looked over at Guilmon, who was now recovering from Renamon's blow, watching the pair as they shouted at each other in confusion over what he should be doing in response. "…Guilmon's just _young_ that's all!"

"Like Tamer like digimon," Rika stated scornfully. "Come on, he's at least a Rookie, right?"

"Um… Ah… Well?" Takato looked back at Guilmon, who shrugged. "Yeah, well, at least I think so," Takato replied, turning back to Rika. "That's what I was going for. You know I've never done this before."

Rika looked on, confused. "Never done what before?"

"Ahhh…" _Created my own digimon?_ his mind answered, but the response sounded bizarre to him, even in a world full of digimon. To his knowledge, it hadn't been done before.

"Oh how clever," Rika continued, stepping aside for her vulpine digimon. "Renamon?"

"No, wait! Call her off!" Takato exclaimed, waving his arms in the thin hope of disarming this approaching conflict. "Come on! We don't want to fight!"

Curling a hand into a fist, Rika turned on Takato furiously. _"Don't want to fight?_ Are you kidding me? I _knew_ you were just some little boy with a pet digimon! Do you even _know_ what digimon you have there you goofy little Gogglehead?" Her eyes flashed as they flicked over to the yellow-rimmed Goggles sitting on his head. If _that_ didn't say _'I'm stupid'_ nothing did. "It's got a hazard sign on it! Don't you know what that means?" Rika ground her teeth together at the boy. "I bet your digimon is a Virus too," she grated. "Virus digimon _love_ to fight. Well, I'm more than happy to oblige. Especially since your digimon's Hazard data will get me what I need."

"Wha…? Get you what you need?" Takato was horrified. This girl intended to _murder_ Guilmon. "But…Guilmon doesn't want to hurt anyone…"

"For goodness sake," Renamon began, leaping into the air. "Let's just get this _over_ with!"

Crossing her arms, a sphere of light formed in front of Renamon, breaking apart into dozens of razor-sharp crystalline shards as she slashed her arms outward. _"Diamond Storm!"_ she shouted, the shards falling down toward Guilmon. Remembering what happened to the Lynxmon from his dream, Takato let out a cry and turned toward his partner.

_"Guilmon! Run away!"_

"Heyyy…!" Guilmon howled as the shards impacted his scales and the ground around him, detonating with explosive force. Shielding his eyes, Takato felt all his hopes for a peaceful or semi-peaceful resolution evaporate completely.

"Just listen to me for once!" he called out desperately, but it was too late. The smoke cleared, revealing Guilmon virtually unscathed by Renamon's attack. However, there was a distinct and noticeable change in his eyes. The pupils had shrunk into vicious slits and an animalistic snarl broke across his face. Opening his mouth, a crimson glow began to burn in the back of his throat. Takato recognized instantly what was happening. Battle was about to be joined.

_"Pyro Sphere!"_ Guilmon called out, and a red bolt shot out from his maw, aimed at Renamon as she came for a landing on a tree branch. Seeing it, she had barely just enough time to jump out of the way as the blast struck the branch, blasting it into pieces.

Renamon dove toward Guilmon, shouting a battle cry. She had to admit, she was caught off guard by the digimon's durability and the speed to which it counter attacked. Fugamon had been a Virus type _and_ a Champion and it still fell to her Diamond Storm. Granted, she wasn't fighting under any modify card effects, but even so, at this level this _Guilmon_ should have been destroyed.

_Who_ is _this guy?_ she wondered, narrowing her eyes as she drew closer. No answer came to her, but the hazard sign had to be the key in all this. Switching back to the battle, she had barely enough time to defend herself with her arm as Guilmon got into a crouch and then _jumped_ up at her, arm clamping down on her armguard and biting hard as they crashed to the ground and rolled. Renamon clenched her teeth, resisting the urge to hiss in pain. There would be no damage, but Guilmon's jaws held ferocious strength that she could feel all the same. She clawed at his face with her free arm, hoping that by doing so he would dislodge his vice-like grip. Most digimon, like humans and animals, protected their eyes, so just the fear of them being damaged alone should be enough…

_Should_ being the key word here.

Whatever fears other living things had about their safety and wellbeing, Guilmon clearly didn't have it, at least not while in the grips of this…berserker rage. He remained singlemindedly focused on trying to tear her arm off, his fangs digging deeper as he pulled and tugged. Renamon's arm jerked painfully around her wrist joints, and those eyes…

It was as if he were a possessed by a demon!

"Come on… Sometime _today!"_ Rika growled at her digivice as it displayed a holographic circle with Guilmon's image on it, struggling to get some useful information on their adversary _._ "Why doesn't it have any data on _Petmon_ over there?" she asked, but the digivice flashed only _No Data_ at her.

This wasn't right. Her digivice had encyclopedic knowledge of all digimon. Closing out of the scan function, she looked up at the battle. "This thing's a piece of junk."

As both Tamers watched, Renamon tumbled over to the side, still attempting to free herself. Try as she might, she couldn't bring herself to go one step further and gouge out Guilmon's eye. Killing a digimon was one thing, but she preferred their deaths to be quick and as clean as possible if she could help it. She was going to have to find another way.

Watching helplessly, having not moved an inch as he stood there, paralyzed with fear and horror, Takato could only shake his head. "Guilmon, please!" Something wasn't right with his partner. The way he was acting brought out all the terror he felt when Guilmon first appeared in the real world. He wasn't acting like Guilmon at all. It was as if… as if… He cried out, trying to shake himself out of his fear-ridden fog. "I don't even think he remembers I'm here!"

Across from him, Rika, not having the same issue, went for a different approach. Digging into her deck box strapped to her belt, she pulled out a card. "That's just plain sloppy Renamon!" she shouted, raising the card to her digivice. Sliding it through the slot on the side, sparks flew as it activated its effect. _"Digi-modify!"_ she called out, the card glowing blue. This seemed to snap Takato out of his haze as he watched.

"What is she doing now?"

_"Armor Activate!"_ Rika finished. In response, Renamon raised her free hand and light coalesced around it, forming a metal gauntlet around it.

"Huh?" Takato recognized the item. It was based on a modify card in the game and had a pressurized metal bar inside it. Pull the trigger and it delivered a punch that could easily destroy the skulls of most Rookie level digimon. "Oh this is really bad…" _I'm going to lose him!_ "Guilmon!" he shouted, almost losing himself to panic. "Run away, I'm _begging_ you!"

Renamon lowered her gauntlet to Guilmon's head as across from them Rika smirked triumphantly.

"Now _that's_ more like it."

One second. One chance. That was _all_ he had. All at once, it felt like the world around him vanished, and the storm in his mind began to calm a little, replaced by…something else? Another storm? A sea of red fire it felt like, but so focused on Guilmon he didn't even see it. He took a shuddering breath and…

"Come on boy… Get out of there! Now would be a _really_ good time for you to start listening to me!"

And then Guilmon blinked.

"Takatomon?"

His pupils returning to normal, Guilmon relinquished his grip on Renamon's arm and stood up, looking over at Takato as if wondering what he was doing all the way over there. He didn't even notice Renamon shifting to take aim once again. She lined up with the side of his face and pulled the trigger…just as Guilmon moved out of the way.

Renamon gasped in surprise as the recoil from the weapon blew her away from the reptile, who, for his part, simply began running over to Takato like an eager child to their parent.

"I'm not listening? Sorry, sorry! Time to play!"

Landing to her feet, Renamon got into an attack stance to gauge the situation. Guilmon's demeanor had altered from the animal to that of a juvenile, eager to please his human partner. Quite the change from how he was before and quite unlike any other digimon she had encountered. She found herself wondering if they should continue pursuing this battle. The way the Guilmon had tanked her attack, and with the hazard sign to consider… There were still too many unknowns and this battle alerted her to one of them already.

She wouldn't even be here fighting them had Rika not caught sight of the pair as they entered the park.

"Now's your chance, Renamon!" Rika called, snapping the vulpine digimon out of her thoughts. "Don't screw up this time!"

Yet as Guilmon ran into Takato's arms, Renamon hesitated. _They're too close,_ she thought. _If I attack, there's a chance that the human will be injured…_

There was more as well. The sight of Guilmon running into the welcoming arms of his partner struck a chord in her. A master and his pet they may be, but even without that they both seemed to care greatly for each other in a short amount of time. She thought of last night, when she watched them sleeping together peacefully. She had thought then that she would destroy Guilmon easily and move on, but now…

"What's _wrong_ with you?!" Rika demanded, seeing Renamon pause. "Hellooo? Attack! _Now!"_

_I'm sorry,_ Renamon thought uncharacteristically. Leaping into the air, she descended toward Takato and Guilmon as they turned to see her approaching, eyes cold and weapon ready. _This is the end._

_"Stop it!"_

_"Silk Thread!"_

The two cries were different, and they both came from different directions. The first caused Renamon to look away to find its owner and miss the second as a sticky, web-like substance struck her armored hand. She only realized what was going on just as a Wormmon appeared from the tree line, the webbing protruding from its mouth. It gave a sharp pull and Renamon crashed to the ground.

Rika, Takato and Guilmon both looked up in surprise up a hill as the Wormmon landed. Behind him approached a dark-skinned boy with a long-eared digimon beside him. Takato blinked, swearing that he recognized him, but could not for the life of him recall his name.

"Who… I… _You?!"_

The long-eared digimon, a Terriermon, raced down the hill toward Takato, tiny arms up in the air and giggling. "It's me! It's him! And aren't you happy to see us?"

_More digimon…_ Rika thought guardedly. _And this time with another Tamer._ She looked up and locked her violet eyes with the grey ones of the other boy as he slid down the hill toward them. _What's going on here? Is he going to side with this guy's digimon?_

Terriermon ran right up to Renamon and stopped, smirking. "You looked pretty good there at the end," he said. "But didn't you feel silly rolling around in the dirt like that?"

Renamon stiffened, feeling her body flush beneath her fur. Only seconds had passed since the fight was interrupted by these two digimon and she already decided which one she liked the least.

"It's not very smart to mouth off to someone bigger than you," the dark-haired boy said as he came to a stop by Takato. Turning and doing a small dance on one leg, Terriermon laughed.

"Henryyy… Momentai!"

_"You_ take it easy," Henry replied before looking over at Rika and Renamon. "What are your digimon fighting about anyway?"

"That's what I'd like to know," Wormmon said, crawling down the hill, an angry look on his face. "Digimon aren't supposed to be fighting in the real world but for some reason _you,"_ Wormmon pointed a claw at Rika as he crawled by her on his many legs, "went after these two. Why?"

Rika was flabbergasted by the Wormmon's authoritative tone, wondering what made him think that he could just _demand_ answers from her. It took only a second for her to see the badge pinned to one of his legs; a silver shield medallion with a D emblazoned on it. Rika grimaced, recognizing the Wormmon as working for the authorities.

_Oh this is just great,_ she growled mentally. She expected this to happen at some point, but never this soon. _Shouldn't have attacked those two blockheads in the daytime. I should have waited and followed them… See what they were going to do._

It was too late to turn back the clock now. There was only one thing left to do. "Renamon?" she said, turning to her partner. With no words exchanged between them, the vulpine digimon vanished, only to reappear behind Rika. Taking the girl into her arms, they disappeared together, leaving a surprised and angry Wormmon fuming at the spot that they had vacated.

"Hey!" his head snapped up at the sky. "You're resisting arrest! That's against the law! Where do you think you're…?"

"Incoming!" he heard Takato yell. Turning, he spotted a familiar blue-scaled, quadruped digimon wearing black armor and a lightning-bolt shaped spike sticking out of his facemask with two more sticking out of his back. _Raidramon._ One of the Armor-evolved forms of Veemon. On his back were Davis and Ken.

Immediately upon landing, Ken jumped off, black and grey digivice at the ready as he scanned his surroundings. "We're here, Wormmon. What's the situation?"

The only immediate answer was Davis behind him, retching as he emptied the contents of his stomach onto the ground.


	12. Episode 3: Aftermath

Rika's feet hit the rooftop as Renamon finished teleporting them out of range of the senses of their opponents. Approaching the ledge, she cast her violet eyes about, narrowing them thoughtfully as she sighted them on the park's tree line. Renamon stood behind her, not moving, only taking in the girl's silent stance. Although she didn't say anything, she didn't have to. Her posture spoke louder than words possibly could.

As to what was going on in her mind, she could only guess. Anger however was the most obvious and readily readable. The battle had been a complete failure, and all because of her.

"I am sorry, Rika," Renamon apologized. "I hesitated and didn't attack when you ordered me too. I should have…"

"What you _should_ have done was not go in for the attack like that," Rika snapped, folding her arms over her chest. "If he was able to resist your Diamond Storm attack, wrestling him wasn't going to do much better." She turned a hard look on the vulpine digimon. "Like I said, you were _sloppy_ out there."

Turning her back on Renamon again, Rika sighed. "We'll need a better location next time. That field was too open. All it did was make it a contest of power. And since you _clearly_ weren't strong enough…" Rika's hands tightened on her arms at that. All their hard work…their victory over the Fugamon last night…all of it might as well have never happened. Renamon _still_ depended on her to fight and win her battles. "…we'll need terrain that's a little more favorable."

She turned back toward Renamon. "Is that understood, Renamon?"

Renamon bowed. "Always."

"Good."

The goggle-wearing boy's face flashed through her mind as she thought about the battle. She wouldn't be stopped. Not now, when she was so close to achieving her goal. Not by the government and _especially_ not by some idiot Goggleheaded creep who had dreams about her. If she could load that digimon's—that _Guilmon's—_ data…

_One battle. That's all I need._ _And then…the digital world._

**###**

"Red hair, broken heart on a white T-shirt with light blue sleeves, wears jeans…" Ken said into his cell phone. After a moment he shook his head. "No. No name was given during the conflict." He nodded. "All right. I understand your position. Thank you anyway."

Ken hung up and resisted the urge to sigh. Davis, eyeing him, saw it in his expression though. "So what'd Yolei say?"

"She says Hypnos will do what it can, but there's no guarantee that the girl will be found. Not with a Renamon as a partner." He furrowed his brow thoughtfully. "At least the hair color narrows things down. Hypnos should be able to provide a list of individuals with that trait through the national data base."

"She's got to live in the area too," Davis supplied. "So that's something."

The young boy, Henry, who stood nearby just a short distance away from Takato and Guilmon, took a step toward them. "I'm sorry for listening but…why wouldn't Hypnos be able to find this girl?"

"Hm?" Ken raised an eyebrow at that before laughing lightly. "Oh, sorry for the confusion. No, I didn't say that they wouldn't be able to, far from it. It's more of a question of bureaucracy and whether they think it's important enough to investigate. It's…complicated."

He glanced over at Guilmon, remembering the dinner he had last night with his wife. It had been one of those many nights where Yolei remarked that she no longer knew what was going on in Takeru's mind. The man selectively did his job in maintaining the barriers between the worlds, letting some digimon slip in through the cracks, stopping others… Henry and his partner Terriermon were one such exception made, and it appeared that Guilmon was much the same.

_And also for this girl as well,_ he thought. He didn't know how often Takeru had done this. He wondered if he should consider looking into that. Perhaps there was a correlation.

_There has to be. What else would keep Takeru from sending Hypnos agents out to investigate the scene of the crime? Something's not right…_

"I wouldn't worry about it though," Ken continued. "Hypnos has a lot of resources at its command. If anyone can find this girl, they can."

"So long as Takeru is up to the job," Davis snorted, earning him a sharp look from Ken and DemiVeemon before turning to Takato. The goggle-wearing boy—something Ken found a tad bit amusing and wondered what Davis' thoughts were on the obvious flattery—appeared distant, as if lost in thought while he patted Guilmon's head. The red dinosaur nuzzled him back, grateful for the attention.

"Are you two going to be okay?" Ken asked. Takato snapped back to attention at the question before nodding his head vigorously.

"Huh? Oh! Yeah, I'm fine! Guilmon is…ah…?"

"I'm fine too," Guilmon laughed. "Though I'd like some more bread."

Henry chuckled. "I've got a little something that'll help tidy you over," he said, taking out his lunch bag from earlier in the day. He hadn't been able to finish it, but digimon, he knew from experience, were a bottomless hole when it came to their appetites. He suspected that a digimon of this size would be willing to eat just about anything. "Here," he said, pulling out a peanut butter sandwich and passing it to Guilmon, who gave it a cautious sniff before looking up.

"Can I…?" The digimon asked Takato tentatively. The boy smiled.

"Sure!"

With that, Guilmon gleefully inhaled the sandwich, nearly taking Henry's hand with it in the process.

"Hey! Guilmon!" Takato admonished, but Guilmon was too lost in the newfound taste that now assaulted his mouth. Pleasure… Unimaginable pleasure sparked along every one of his senses. Rearing back, his mouth still full of half-chewed sandwich and peanut butter, he roared in exaltation.

"Want _more!"_

"Ewww…" Terriermon grimaced at the sight. "Henry, I think that qualifies as rude."

"Hey, he was only just born yesterday," Takato defended with a slight twitter of nerves in his voice. He gave Guilmon a bit of a look though that promised that as soon as he was of sound mind and judgment, there would be words.

"That's not really an excuse," DemiVeemon said from his spot atop Davis' head. Reaching up, Davis tapped his partner with his knuckles.

"I seem to recall you being quite the pigmon yourself back in the day," he laughed. "All that chocolate Yolei used to bring over didn't stand a chance."

"Chocolate is good!"

"Anyway," Ken interrupted, picking up Wormmon and setting him on his shoulder. "Would you like for us to inform your teacher about this, Takato? I understand you don't have a cell phone…"

"Ah…" Takato thought about it for a moment. The only other phone he had belonged to his parents and that was located where his parents could hear him. _Maybe if I waited until they went to bed…?_ He wondered if his teacher would be awake that long but… "I'll tell her," he said finally. "It's my responsibility after all."

_Well, he's got a good heart for personal ethics,_ Ken mused with a nod. "All right. Davis and I have to file a report and do some investigative groundwork ourselves. Maybe we can turn up something before Hypnos does."

"I'm fine with the investigative groundwork part," Davis grinned, grateful for the opportunity to show up Takeru at his own game. "Just…uh…how do I do that?"

"I'll show you how once we get back to the office," Ken said. "Good luck you two."

Takato breathed a sigh of relief and he visibly relaxed.

"Somebody was all wound up like that girl was," Terriermon said drawing up next to Henry's ankle. "You need to momentai."

"Well…she's…harsh," Takato replied, giving the diminutive digimon a wan smile. "Why'd she have to go pick a fight with Guilmon? He's never done anything to her…have you…boy?" He looked at Guilmon in concern, wondering what else the digimon had gotten up to when he wasn't there to keep an eye on him.

"Nuh-huh," Guilmon shook his head. "I know I saw them before, but I can't remember where. I just know there was a lot of…um…something wet falling on me…?"

Guilmon struggled for the words, but Takato quickly grasped what he was talking about.

"Rain," he said. "Rain was falling on you. On _both_ of us."

"Yeah, that," Guilmon said, pointing a claw at Takato. Henry cocked an eyebrow at the pair, wondering what they were talking about for a moment before shrugging it off. There _had_ been a thunderstorm just yesterday…

"Hold on," Terriermon said, raising an ear. "Didn't you tell the detective that you had never seen her before? I'm pretty sure that's against the law."

"I…I didn't actually _see_ her," Takato replied, his face going red as his words fumbled over themselves. "I'm…not sure how to explain it."

"That's confusing," Terriermon said, tilting his head to one side. "Either you saw her or not."

"Well, neither of us were actually _there_ when we saw her. I thought it was just a dream, but…

_Guilmon saw that? I wasn't just going crazy?_ Takato shook his head in an attempt to get a hold of himself. He wondered just what was going on here. First he creates a digimon out of his imagination and an unusual digivice, and then he dreams of a girl he never saw before in his life. Did that mean that they were connected in some way, or…?

"Oh!" Takato was broken out of his thoughts as he remembered the original purpose for why they were here in the first place. "Guilmon! I still need to find a place to hide you!"

Henry's eyebrows rose a little. "You can't keep him at your home?"

"Well…no," Takato admitted. "Our lease won't let us keep pets and Guilmon… Um… I'm not sure _what_ he'd count as, but my parents wouldn't allow it. My mom doesn't think I should keep a cat, let alone a _gold fish."_

_Overprotective parents, huh?_ Henry brought a hand to his chin, thinking the problem over for a moment. "Actually, I might know a place…"

**###**

"You're Takato, right?" Henry asked, leading him up a long stretch of stairs to a small, concrete bunker.

"Yeah," Takato nodded. "I've heard about you at school. You're the only kid there that has a digimon. Uh…" He blushed, remembering Guilmon. "…that is, until yesterday."

"That must be some story to tell," Henry said, thinking back to when Terriermon crawled out of his computer.

"Not really," Takato said, rubbing the back of his head. "All I did was crawl around a lot and get dirty. Guilmon appeared at a construction site."

"So that's what I saw," Henry mused aloud.

"Huh?"

"Henry saw a flash of light from his bedroom window a couple days ago," Terriermon piped in. "Guilmon showing up must've been that." Giggling, he winked at the dinosaur. "You made quite the entrance."

"I made a door?" Guilmon tilted his head to one side, pausing from sniffing at a flower to look at Terriermon in confusion.

"In a way," Henry laughed. "When digimon bio-emerge into the real world, they create a doorway into the real world. It doesn't last for very long though."

"How…do you know that?" Takato asked as they came to a stop at the gate of the concrete shack. Henry's expression became hesitant for a moment, almost ashamed. "Um…not that you have to tell me…" Takato began, seeing this. Henry shook his head.

"No, it's okay. It's just…how to tell you…"

"His dad created digimon," Terriermon smirked, tumbling off his partner's shoulder and running over to Guilmon. Clambering onto him, the rabbit-dog digimon hugged his head with his ears, causing Guilmon to look up uncertain as to how he should react.

"Terriermon…" Henry began. "He didn't create digimon. He…helped though."

"That makes him a creator in my book," Terriermon said. Sighing, Henry opened the iron bar door to the bunker and stepped aside.

"Well… It's not much, but it's shelter until you can figure something out. Hardly anyone comes here so your digimon should be safe."

Tentatively, Guilmon stepped into the concrete bunker, sniffing the air. Approaching a corner, he gave one last sniff and then plopped himself down.

"I like this place," he said.

"Well that's a relief," Takato smiled. "Hey, thanks for helping me out today. Man, you and Wormmon showed up just in time. That girl was going to slice and dice Guilmon!"

"No problem," Henry said, watching Terriermon as he dropped down from Guilmon's head and began to bounce up and down off his tail like a trampoline, aided by Guilmon lifting his tail with each landing so as to help give him a lift each time. "Hopefully that Ken guy can find out who she is before something bad happens. I have a feeling she's done this before."

"You think so?" Takato's face fell, becoming sad at the idea. He couldn't understand why anyone would want to make digimon fight each other. He played the games digimon were in, but living creatures were a completely different animal from the fake fiction he had fun in.

"You saw how she used her modify cards, right?" Henry asked. Takato nodded.

"Yeah, that was…" Takato paused. He wanted to say _cool,_ but considering that Guilmon had nearly been killed by the Armor modify card, it gave him pause. "…different," he finished, swallowing a little.

"She knows what cards to use," Henry continued. "She didn't even have to look." He frowned. "I'd wager she's the digimon killer that's been on the news."

"Digimon killer…?" Takato felt his heart clench in his chest. He had heard the news as well, but not much. He didn't pay much attention to the news. _But…it makes sense, doesn't it? That dream I had about her…deleting that Lynxmon…_ His shoulders sagged. So far this wasn't looking like a good start to his adventure. His first enemy was another Tamer like him, and he didn't even know why. Seeing this, Henry gave him a comforting smile.

"Sorry. This has been a rough day, huh?"

"It's been…interesting."

"May you live in interesting times," Terriermon chirped, bouncing up and landing on Guilmon's head. Wrapping himself around the dinosaur with his ears again, he giggled. "Anyway, I'm hungry! Can we eat now?"

"But you just ate!" Henry protested.

"So… What's your point? Momentai!" Tumbling down, Terriermon headed over to Henry and hopped up onto his shoulder.

"Okay," Henry sighed, giving Takato an apologetic look. "Dinner time. See you tomorrow at school?"

"Yeah," Takato replied as Guilmon drew up behind him. "Maybe tomorrow will be better."

"Takatomon, I'm hungry too!"

Takato gave a small laugh, feeling his spirits lift a little. "Great. See what you started?" A thought occurred to him just then. "Hey! What does momentai mean?"

Terriermon craned his head to look at him with an amused smile. "Haven't you figured that out yet? It means take it easy!"

Takato watched them go for a moment before Guilmon, sensing his concern, pressed his head against his belly, nuzzling him.

**###**

Takato made his way home, lost in thought. He hated to leave Guilmon alone so early after being united with him again, but unfortunately he had to get home early tonight. He wanted to hope that Guilmon would be okay without him there, but the thought of the fire-haired girl still being out there, possibly hunting him. Hope was hard to come by though after today, so every step he took felt as though he were wearing lead shoes.

Yet, all he could do was hope.

"Hey Mom, I'm home," he greeted, entering the bakery. So lost in thought, he almost missed the girl with a brown shade of hair standing at the counter, talking to his mother, but when he did he froze in place, eyes widening in shock.

"Say hi to your mom for me," Mie said as she finished bagging her order and handed it to her. Hearing Takato's greeting, Jeri turned toward him. A small smile appeared on her face as she spied him, as if she knew a secret.

"I will Mrs. Matsuki," she said, heading toward Takato. "It smells wonderful in here. I wish I lived over a bakery."

"You get used to it," Mie said as Jeri neared the boy, who stood stock still, face flushing. One of his classmates was here… One of his classmates who heard about what happened today. Who had to have noticed that he wasn't in their class after he ran off during gym, when Guilmon was spotted. Who had to have…oh, so many things. And the only thing that came to mind was this: She had to know he was partnered with a digimon.

Around and around his mind chased his fears as his heart banged against the inside of his chest. _What did she tell my mom? Did she tell Mom? What is she going to say to me?_

Jeri drew near, humming softly to herself. As she brushed by, she spoke to him, her voice just low enough for only the two of them to hear.

"You owe me one Takato. I didn't tell your mom you ditched school!"

"Wha…?"

Of all the things, he hadn't quite expected that. Jerking around as she stopped in the doorway, still smiling at him. _Just_ ditching school? _If only Jeri knew…_

Unless she was playing with him.

_That can't be,_ he thought, looking into her soft, amber eyes as they regarded him with an odd mixture of mischievousness and kindness. The kindness was most apparent and it at once left him feeling at ease. Even if she was a bit odd, surely he could trust her…right?

"Jeri… Thanks a lot."

Giggling, Jeri waved and ran off, leaving Takato's shoulders to again slump, only this time in relief.

Maybe… Just maybe Jeri wasn't so bad after all.

"Did you find a home for that cardboard box son?"

Takato gave a small yelp of surprise as he was broken out of his reverie by his father approaching him from behind.

"Ah…what?"

"I know it was hard," the man continued, tears brimming in his eyes, "but at least you didn't have time to get _attached…"_

Unable to take the sudden storm of emotion threatening to burst forth from his eyes, Takehiro ducked away, unwilling to let his son see such a sight, leaving the poor, confused boy to watch him go, pondering the twists and turns this day had taken him on. A small, quirky smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

_Poor Dad… He has no idea._


	13. Episode 3: Nighttime Worries

Takato lay in his bed, his head resting on one arm while the other turned his digivice over in his hand. There wasn't anything new about it since he last looked at it, but he pondered it thoughtfully all the same.

_That girl used the slot on the side to scan cards to modify her Renamon… What else can this thing do that I don't know about?_

The answer he suspected was a great deal. He had researched as much as he could about the digidestined of old, but for every ounce of information he found, there was a ton more buried away from the public eye. How digivices worked being one example. There were two models prior to this one, and information on their capabilities was scarce.

_The most I've heard is that they have some kind of light in them. Some sort of…light of goodness. Like the Crest of Light that Ms. Kamiya used to have._ He smiled at the thought of his teacher, but the smile quickly vanished as he remembered that he had to call her and let her know about the fight today. He sighed dejectedly and sat up. Downstairs he heard the clinking of dishes as his parents went about their tasks. The phone was down there, plugged into the wall. A relic from another time that seemed out of place, if quant, in the modern era.

_They don't trust me with pets. They don't trust me with cell phones. It's like they don't trust me with anything without supervision. If Mom saw that fight today there's no way she'd ever let me out of the house._

Takato heaved another sigh. _Just what is the deal with that girl? Her digivice is exactly the same as mine. The digital world chose her, right? So why did she attack Guilmon?_

He thought back to the battle, finally taking mental notes on what the girl said to him. A thought occurred to him, and climbed down from his bed. Heading over to his desk, he picked up his drawings of Guilmon, still strapped together with a rubber band.

" _I_ _knew_ _you were just some little boy with a pet digimon!"_ he remembered the girl saying to him. _"Do you even_ _know_ _what digimon you have there you goofy little Gogglehead. It's got a hazard sign on it! Don't you know what that means? I bet your digimon is a Virus too. Virus digimon_ _love_ _to fight. Well, I'm more than happy to oblige. Especially since your digimon's Hazard data will get me what I need."_

_Hazard…_

_Guilmon in the real world has a hazard marking on his stomach, but…my drawings don't._ Takato's eyes widened slightly in worry and he glanced out the window in the direction of the park, where his partner most assuredly slept. He didn't know how he knew, but he had the odd sense that was the case.

_The Digital Hazard… I didn't put that marking there. So…what did?_

Pulling open a desk drawer, he withdrew one of several binders containing cards, newspaper clippings, and various notes he took over the years with a wide range of reading legibility. He winced in embarrassment, but all the same he liked to think of it as his own personal code. Setting the binder down he cracked it open.

_Maybe there's something in here that can help me,_ he thought, leafing through the first few pages. _Let's see…Digital Hazard. Ohhh man… I didn't alphabetize this one! This…could take a while…_

**###**

Renamon jumped from rooftop to rooftop, taking care to always keep Rika within her sight. The girl in question moved through the crowd, her ear-buds blocking out the outside noise. She was deep in thought about the day's events, though whether or not she was worried, not even Renamon was able to ascertain. Rika, if nothing else, kept her thoughts and feelings close to her, and everything else was kept at arm's length.

But during their long association, there were some things that Renamon had picked up.

_She walks like she's the only person in the world in the world,_ she thought, landing on a ledge and kneeling down for a better look. That had been the first thing Renamon had been told prior to when they first became partners and as the months passed, this was only confirmed. Rika always seemed to be…alone. She drew strength from it, defining herself as she saw fit, but there was a well of darkness surrounding her on all sides. A well that her master wanted to be tapped.

Yet, as Renamon watched, she wondered about the girl. In spite of the strength she gained from her solitude, she never seemed happy. Her eyes held a coldness in them that seemed to view the world around her as a potential threat. It stood in stark contrast to the new Tamer and his digimon. While alien, the warmth and concern that they showed for each other had touched Renamon. Rika had shown no such feelings for her in all their time together, and didn't even hesitate to consider the harm the boy would have suffered had she completed her attack.

_Kill or be killed is the law of the Nightmare Soldier,_ she reminded herself. _You fight for what's yours, because if you don't, there is nothing stopping others from destroying what you care for. Rika has something she cares for. That is why she seeks to go into the digital world. I however…_

Renamon stood and teleported over to the next roof, keeping Rika within view.

_What do I care for?_ she wondered, settling herself back down. Now that she thought of it, she didn't know. Her life had thus far consisted of nothing but battle; going from one opponent to the next, watching fellow Nightmare Soldiers die or kill, all the while feeling… _nothing._

Renamon could almost chuckle at the irony of it all. She was as alone as Rika. True, she had the Nightmare Soldiers, but they all saw each other as allies of convenience to be tossed aside once they were no longer needed. The only reason she herself hadn't been deleted and loaded yet was because of Apocalymon, and only because he needed her.

_You only think you're alone, Rika,_ she thought.

Some movement in the street caught her eyes. Glancing down, she spied a tiny, white, creampuff of a digimon dodging a sea of ankles and yelling something about playing a _game._ Rika, lost in her own world, took no notice. Renamon, not caring for battle at the moment and doubting that the tiny digimon would offer anything useful to her, promptly decided to ignore it.

**###**

"So then I said to him, I said, 'One card man and you're back to Rookie,'" Rika overheard as her phone began to switch songs. Instinctively, she hit pause and looked up at a trio of three older boys passing by, discussing card tactics. She doubted that they had anything useful, but there was always a chance. As a Tamer, she had to be on her toes when it came to the competition.

As the three boys walked by, one of them suddenly jerked around, his eyes going wide in surprise.

"Hey! T-That's really strange! You're _her…_ I mean it's you, isn't it?!"

The taller of the boys merely looked at his companion with a look on his face that suggested this was a habit of his. "You're incomprehensible."

"Comprehend this! That's the _Digimon Queen!_ I mean it's synchronicity dude!"

The tall boy gave Rika an unimpressed look. "C'mon, that's a _girl_ man."

At that, Rika turned around, her eyes narrowing at the tall boy, a small light flickering behind them. The three boys were now all looking at her with disbelief. The one that had pointed her out grinned. "Yeah, I noticed, and she's kind of cute too. She's got a punk edge, you know?"

Rika narrowed her eyes even further. Not saying a word however, Rika simply turned away and resumed her trek, fast regretting having let the world intrude on her again. _Digimon Queen,_ she thought disdainfully at how little the title seemed to matter. _Goggleheads… Give me a break._ Fuming, she stopped at an intersection. The world grew dark around her as she reached out with her mind, making mental contact with…

_"Renamon!"_

In her mind's eye, the vulpine digimon materialized behind her.

_"Rika?"_

_"If I'm so good, then why haven't you digivolved?"_

Renamon could hear the girl's heart beating angrily in her chest. She had heard the talk from the boys and sensed the effect their words had on her. The resentment and anger swirled within her heart, shrouding her in darkness. Renamon felt a certain trepidation now. Though she didn't fear that Rika could hurt her physically, she knew full well that there was more than one way to hurt someone.

_"I don't know,"_ Renamon replied carefully, knowing that the answer would not placate the girl.

_"I think it's your fault,"_ Rika said bitterly, raising a fist and squeezing it tightly. _"You should try harder."_

Renamon's eyes narrowed, sensing the chord within Rika that had been struck by the three boys. _"What are you trying to say to me, Rika?"_

Rika now turned to face Renamon. _"It's not_ my _fault. I'm the best Tamer there is!"_

_"So you are,"_ Renamon said. _"I never said you weren't."_

_"Well see that you don't!"_ Rika snapped, slashing one hand to the side. _"I'm the best and I won't settle for less than that out of you! Do you understand me?"_

Renamon regarded the young girl with hidden concern. _"Always."_

_"Then you know I'm not kidding around here,"_ Rika finished, turning back around. The darkness, along with Renamon, retreated, and the lights of the city returned in its place.

_"I know,"_ Renamon's voice trailed off as the crosswalk turned green, signaling that it was safe to go.

"She will be the best," Rika said to herself as she moved across the street. "Like me."

**###**

_Finally,_ Takato thought as he hurriedly made his way up the path to the hut Henry had shown him earlier in the day. Two bags full of bread—pilfered from the day old pile when he made his escape from the house—shifted within his hands and he reached up to push the gate open. It swung inward with a creek, announcing his presence. "Hey Guilmon, it's chow time!" he called, stepping inside. "I even brought peanut bu… _Uaaah?!"_

Takato nearly dropped his bags as he shouted in surprise at the sight before him. When he left earlier, the floor was smooth, though slightly gritty from the weather. Now the situation had drastically been reversed. Dirt was everywhere. Chunks of concrete were ripped up and thrown to the side without care, and a great pit lay in the center, wherein sat Guilmon, looking more than pleased with himself.

For the briefest of moments, Takato had a flash of what his mother felt every time she saw his room in a mess.

"W-What did you _do_ to this place?!"

Seeing Takato, Guilmon got up and sauntered over to him with none of his usual energy.

"Whaaa…?" Guilmon began in an exhausted tone. "Made it bigger," he explained. "Now I'm really small."

Takato approached his partner, his expression softening. "I think you mean sleepy," he smiled as Guilmon came to a halt before him, swaying on his feet.

"Sleepy-bye, nappy-time Takatomon…" Guilmon added before his eyes slid shut and he crashed into his Tamer, collapsing on top of him over his protests. Takato squawked as they fell to the ground together, the air nearly rushing out of his lungs from the weight of the giant-sized Rookie. He really _was_ heavy!

"No more peanut butter for you!" Takato grunted, trying to lift himself out of his partner's unintended embrace. Guilmon's sudden snoring brought him up short, and Takato paused, a smile forming on his lips, and he placed a hand on the dinosaur's head, rubbing it gently. "I hope he doesn't sleep as much as he eats," he said quietly to himself, Guilmon's ear twitching at his caress. Guilmon nuzzled his stomach and inhaled his smell, finding the boy to be quite the comforting pillow.

"I wonder if digimon have dreams…"

"Of course they do," came a voice behind him. Looking quickly over his shoulder, Takato found his teacher, Kari Kamiya, standing at the entrance with Gatomon behind her, smiling. "But they're always about food."

"That's not true," Gatomon protested. "I dream about taking a cat nap sometimes."

"Ah… Hey Ms. Kamiya," Takato greeted, pulling himself out from under Guilmon's head while taking care to not jolt him out of his much-needed rest. "Sorry for calling you out here so late. Ah…you sure got here quick."

"This place is not exactly hard to find, Takato," Kari replied. "But this," she held up her digivice and as if on cue it beeped, "also helped. It has a detection function that helps me find other digivices."

"Really?" Takato asked, taking out his own digivice. "I wonder if mine can do the same."

"It should," Kari said, pocketing hers. "Though it will probably have a limited range just like mine does. Now would you care to explain to me why you called from a payphone and asked me to meet you here?" She looked around the hut, appraising it. She wrinkled her face at the hole Guilmon dug in the middle.

"Um…" Takato scratched the back of his head. "Well, you see… I…kind of…got into a fight today."

_Oh dear…_ "Did it involve Guilmon?" Kari asked. Takato nodded.

"But we didn't do anything!" he quickly clarified. "This girl just jumped us with a Renamon! She came _looking_ to start a fight and…!"

"Slow down Takato," Kari began, raising a hand. Stepping outside the gate, she indicated for him to follow, which he did so obediently. "Sit," she said, setting herself down on the concrete stair. Takato quickly joined her. "Take a deep breath… Breathe in…" Takato inhaled. "…and out."

Takato exhaled. He felt a little bit better now. Kari nodded, seeing the storm in his eyes clearing.

"All right. Now, from the top. Tell me what happened."

"Okay. You see… I took Guilmon into the park to find a place for him to hide since I can't keep him home or anything. We entered a clearing and then…"

**###**

"Henwy!" Suzie called, entering her brother's room with a wide, cherubic smile on her face. "Mom says come to dinner!"

Her eyes, wide and sparkling, swiveled around the room, quickly spotting her favorite playmate sitting on the bed. "Terriermon! Let's play!"

"Huh?!" Terriermon exclaimed as the girl dashed toward him. Before he could even react, the girl scooped him up into a bone-crushing hug and squeezed him against her. "S-Suzieee… We already played! And…you're hurting me!"

Giggling, Suzie dropped him back onto the bed and began to pat him roughly on the head.

"That's not any better…" he griped. Sitting at his computer, Henry watched the scene with a mixture of concern and amusement.

"Careful Suzie, you'll rub all his fur off."

Still giggling, Suzie withdrew her hand and swung around, arms outstretched as though she were in a dance, and proceeded to hop out of the room like a rabbit. The two partners watched her go for a moment before Terriermon breathed a sigh of relief.

"One second or five, it's not soon enough…"

Henry eyed Terriermon for a moment before getting up and heading over to the door. He paused at the exit and then turned back toward his partner. "Hey Terriermon."

The dog-bunny digimon sat up, an annoyed expression on his face, already predicting what his partner was about to say. "I know, that wasn't very nice."

"No it wasn't," Henry agreed. "But that's not it."

Terriermon's large, dark eyes met Henry's gray ones. While unreadable to the casual onlooker, Henry had been his partner long enough to know what lay behind that darkness. Questioning confusion.

"If you digivolved to your Champion form, you wouldn't be able to stay with us anymore. The government would take you away."

Terriermon's ears went up in protest. "Henry, is this because of that girl from earlier? How many times do I have to tell you? I won't digivolve!"

"Once," Henry grinned, stepping out into the hallway. "By the way, _that_ qualified as rude."

Giggling, Terriermon hopped off the bed and clambered up onto his partner's shoulder. "Seriously though, are you worried about that girl?"

"I am," Henry admitted. "She was really looking to kill Guilmon. It didn't even concern her that her Renamon might hurt a person to do it."

"She's got the cops on her trail now Henry. She can't do anything."

"I don't think you believe that anymore than me. You've heard the news. She's been destroying digimon for a long time now. Digimon that have been living peacefully."

Terriermon snorted. "This is starting to sound like an endorsement of my digivolving."

"Terriermon…"

"I know, but the law is stupid here, Henry! You saw that Renamon, right? Sure I'm tough, but I'd need some extra firepower just to tangle with her."

"Maybe we should start running modify card drills," Henry said thoughtfully. "We haven't done that since you got here…" Henry felt himself tense up and he shook his head. "No. It's a bad idea either way. If we fight, there'll be a commotion. You'll get hurt and then…" Stopping himself, Henry gripped the doorknob suddenly and took a calming breath, centering his mind. In. Out.

Centered, but not better.

"Momentai, Henry," Terriermon said, giving his partner's head a squeeze with his ears. This was a familiar battle with his Tamer. Not a physical one, but a mental one. For some reason, the boy, despite being a martial artist and having a solid grasp on how to use card tactics in conjunction with his digivice, did his absolute best to avoid confrontation. The pressure on his psyche had been building throughout the reports with the digimon killer, and now that it seemed likely that Terriermon would become a target, it was causing him to worry even more. "C'mon. You saw it. That Ken and Davis guy probably already know who she is by now. They'll have her behind bars in no time. So how about we go stuff our faces already? I'm starving!"

"Again?" Henry asked, giving a wry chuckle. "You are incorrigible!"

Terriermon giggled.


	14. Episode 3: The Dragon and the Queen

"Does anyone know what we're looking for out here?" Takeru heard one of his 'cleanup' agents ask as he approached the scene at the park. Yellow tape was wrapped around the area, warning bystanders to keep away as an investigation was going on. Takeru ducked underneath it, flicking his lighter open and then closed with a metallic click.

"Bio-emergence of a memetic life form," replied another holding a small device in his hands that gave off low, sporadic, clicking noises; a Geiger Counter. "Namely digimon. Didn't you pay attention in the briefing?"

"Sherlock, no way," crowed another with a loud laugh. "With the readings we have? Digimon of this level couldn't get through the firewall. I'm betting this is…" The agent's words died off as he spotted Takeru continuing on by. "Shhh!" he hissed. "The boss!"

Takeru ignored them, continuing to flick his lighter open and closed before stopping at a small digimon playing card, standing with a corner stabbed into the dirt. Bending down, he picked it up.

_Children playing games again, isn't that right, Owikawa?_ he asked mentally. He didn't expect an answer. Not from himself and least of all from the dead man whose digital remains littered the digital world. _That's how it started; with a game._

Dropping the card, he flicked his lighter open. _Just try and win this one, darkness…_

**###**

"All right, settle down class," Kari called over the chatter of her students in an attempt to corral them into some semblance of order. Fortunately for her head, they did just that and quickly quieted. "That's much better," she continued. "I still have a full and complete minute of your precious time and I intend to use every second of it."

As if on cue, the bell rang, signaling the end of the school day. Kari closed her eyes, feeling the slight pang of an ache behind her temples. She sighed. "Apparently to tell you that I still have a minute of your time," she acquiesced. "That's it for today!"

The class cheered and immediately began to half-run, half-file their way to the door with something resembling an orderly fashion. Takato got up slowly, his expression distant, barely noticing Kazu and Kenta as they linked up and darted away in the direction of their hangout. They wouldn't be expecting him as he told them earlier in the day he was going to have 'things to do'. Seeing his slowness, Kari approached him.

"Everything all right, Takato?" she asked. Blinking, the boy looked up, and his vision cleared a little.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm just…worried a little. I don't know what to expect I guess."

_Worried that the Renamon tracked down Guilmon,_ she thought, though she didn't voice the concern out loud. "Don't worry," she said. "If there were something wrong, I'm sure your digivice would have let you know." She gave him a small smile. "Mine does, and yours should do."

"Yeah?" Takato asked hopefully, looking up at Kari. She nodded and at once his spirits brightened up. "If you say so," he continued, giving a nervous laugh. "Maybe Ken already arrested her, or maybe she has to wait until after school?"

"It could be, but you shouldn't depend on that," Kari advised. "Remember what we talked about last night?"

Takato nodded.

"Good," Kari said. "Gatomon and I can't be with you all the time, so it's important that you two try to stay as safe as possible until this is resolved. As long as you do as I told you, you _should_ be safe." She pressed her lips together tightly, clearly not happy. _Should_ was the key word here. There was no such thing as true safety even in the best of societies. The best anyone could do is hope and do what they could to avoid danger. Hopefully Takato would be able to do so.

**###**

Takato made his way through the schoolyard and in the direction of the park, taking no notice of Jeri's eyes as they followed him, a bit of a mischievous look dancing within their amber depths. Takato opted to take the shortest route he could, cutting through his usual hangout with Kazu and Kenta and get right down to business. Hopefully everything would be all right.

_Please be okay, Guilmon,_ he thought, the worry building up in his mind until a loud cry caused him to trip up and nearly face-plant himself on the ground in surprise. "W-Wha…?" he rasped, looking around frantically before finding Kazu already sitting across from Kenta in the dinosaur hut, burying the poor boy in what appeared to be the next round in a never-ending string of defeats. Kenta's face was buried in his hands as his shoulders shook with anger.

"C'mon dude!" Kazu crowed, holding up the card that ensured his victory. Slightly curious, Takato moved a little closer and found him holding up his new, prized SkullMeramon card. "Don't cry, look up! You've got to see this, I am _just_ that good!"

Unable to stop himself Takato moved closer again, chuckling. "You're one humble guy, Kazu."

Looking up in surprise, Kazu grinned. "Hey, Chumley! I thought you had stuff to do."

"I still do," Takato said, giving his friend a regretful smile. "I was just passing through."

"Ah well," Kazu shrugged. "Next time then. I could use a better player to fight against. Beating Kenta all the time is kinda starting to get old."

His head snapping up at that, Kenta adjusted his glasses. "You're…You're a lousy winner!" he exclaimed, trying to sound tough. Unfortunately, long association with Kazu meant that his bravado was wasted, especially when all it did was rile him up.

"Am not!" Kazu defended. "You're just a lousy loser! Do you hear me, loser? Anyway, you'll never get any better until you learn how to use modify cards. That's where a real Tamer shines, and I _shine_ baby!"

"Yeah," Takato nodded absently, remembering yesterday's battle with the girl and her Renamon. "They sure do make a difference."

"See?" Kazu laughed. "Even Chumley here gets it and he's almost as bad as you are!" Snickering, Kazu leaned back in the hut. "Anyway, I think I'm a natural to win the tournament this year."

"You're delusional," Kenta said, still fuming about his latest defeat. "I mean, you're not even in their league, Kazu."

"Am too!" Kazu shot back. "Listen up boyo, a _girl_ won it last year."

Kenta's eyes lit up and all his anger just seemed to melt away. "That…was not just a girl," he breathed.

"Yeah," Kazu nodded, a touch of awe in his voice now. "The Digimon Queen. That's what they call her. Can you believe that? She even lives around here."

At that, Takato's interest was sparked. A master Tamer that lived in their area? Could she teach him how to use modify cards better so he could help Guilmon?

"She's going to wipe the floor with your sorry butt," Kenta continued, sounding defeated again. Kazu snorted and stabbed a finger in his direction.

"Don't think so! She's just never met her match is all! Wait and see, Chumley! She'll be begging me for mercy!"

Not thinking, Takato took hold of Kazu's shoulder and shook it urgently. "I have to find her!"

"Huh?" Kazu blinked, turning toward him. "You have to do _what?"_

"Where does she live? I _need_ her!"

Kazu could only stare at his friend, stunned at his friend's statement. "Dude, I can't believe what you just said. Did you just say you need a girl? You're out of the club buddy. Hello?"

Takato didn't hear him. He was lost in thought trying to figure out how to track down this master Tamer and convince her to train him. If she agreed, then Guilmon…

"Takato needs a girl? What for?" came Jeri's voice, snapping him back to reality with a startled cry and a blush. Looking over at her, standing across just outside the dinosaur hut, one arm behind her back and holding the other while one foot dug against the ground, Takato's blush darkened in ferocity. She smiled upon seeing it. "Will I do?"

Kazu and Kenta, fortunately, took no notice of it.

"Not unless you can beat up the Digimon Queen," Kenta said, pumping his fists into the air. "Now that's a battle I'd pay money to see!"

"Boys are so weird," Jeri said, tilting her head to one side questioningly. "What's so great about fighting?"

Kazu leaned a little closer to her. "Show's how much you know about being a boy," he said. "It's how _we_ keep score! And anyway, I've met _plenty_ of girls who enjoy a good fight."

"I'm sure you have," spoke up another girl approaching from behind Jeri, a girl with an orange and red-striped T-shirt and copper pigtails. _"Lots_ of them."

"Ayaka!" Jeri greeted in surprise.

"Like Miki," Ayaka laughed, looking over at the dark-haired, bowl-cut girl in a grey dress behind her. "You want to fight with Kazu, right?"

The three girls all gave a loud chorus of laughter, and with that, as if on some hidden signal, Jeri and the two girls parted ways from the three boys, leaving them to stare after them in uncertainty as to what just happened.

"Um…I think we just lost that round, guys," Takato said, scratching the back of his head.

"Phht!" Kazu said dismissively. "Whatever. I'm ready to beat Kenta into the ground again. You sticking around or are you taking off?"

"Ah!" Takato wanted to kick himself for getting distracted. It was no wonder his parents didn't let him have pets. "I'll see you tomorrow!" he said, turning and breaking into a run toward the park. Kazu could only shake his head at him.

"Man, he seriously needs to cut back on the caffeine…"

**###**

Takato pushed his legs all the harder as he raced in the direction of the park. Reaching an intersection, he noticed a number of black, unmarked vans with satellite dishes on top driving by and he drew up short to watch them pass before crossing. In his mind, he was already forming conspiracy theories as to why such vehicles were out.

_Could it be because of that girl?_ he wondered. His hands tightened as another thought occurred to him. _Or could it be because of Guilmon? Because he has that Hazard mark on his chest?_

He remembered his research from yesterday and how fruitless it had been. While he had an entry called 'Digital Hazard' (as luck would turn out, it was located in the very last binder tucked in the back), but what information it held was scant at best and from the card game. When he brought it up with Ms. Kamiya, even she knew nothing about it. However, that girl seemed to think it was important, and if anyone else knew what the Digital Hazard was it would most definitely be the government. Taking a look he spotted a gap where the last of the vans was located. Springing into action, Takato darted toward it and raced into the intersection. Within short order he was across the street and entering the domain of Shinjuku Park.

"Guilmon!" he called, quickly locating the stairs that would bring him to his partner's hideout. _"Guilmon!"_

No answer. The door to the concrete hut was ajar. Panicking, he pulled it the rest of the way open and quickly found that the place was empty save for the broken rubble from Guilmon's digging. "No…" Takato moaned in despair. "They must have found him. I should have hidden him better!"

Already, his imagination was conjuring nightmare images as to who the 'they' were. The girl or the government seemed to be the most obvious choices. If the girl, Guilmon was as good as dead. If the government…

_They're probably doing all kinds of weird experiments on him!_ His head bowed as tears began to well up in his eyes. "He's…He's toast…"

Just then, he became aware that his digivice was beeping at him. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled it out, discovering that the compass function was on and ready, the arrow on the screen swinging wildly about. "Huh? Oh! That's right! Ms. Kamiya said that I could use this to find him!"

_Come to think of it, isn't that how I found him in the first place?_ Takato wanted to kick himself again for being so quick to surrender to despair. Turning, he tried to follow the arrow, only to frown as it swung around again, as if in confusion.

"There he…is?" He spun around. "Here! No…there! Ah…how does this stupid thing work?"

Finally, the arrow drew to a halt to a bush directly in front of him, off the side to the concrete hut. It was definitive. This had to be him coming. "Bull's eye, baby!"

The bush shifted and Takato smiled.

"Guilmon? Come on. Guilmon? Are you in there?" He suddenly felt a bit uncertain. Now that he thought about it, did his digivice register Guilmon, or did it do that for _any_ digimon in the area?

As if in answer to the question, Guilmon's head popped out of the bush. _"I win!"_ he laughed while Takato breathed a sigh of relief. "Let's play again!"

Patting his chest to make sure that his heart didn't beat its way out of him, Takato ran over to his partner. "You scared me! Guilmon, I was worried I would find you floating in a vat like on TV!"

The two partners crashed together into a hug, their laughter intermingling.

"That sounds like fun," Guilmon replied. "Can we do that next?"

"You're crazy, boy, you know that?" Takato said, pulling away. "You can't just go wandering around on your own like this. There's no telling what might happen to you out here."

He thought back to the girl from yesterday and shuddered. It was nothing short of a miracle that Renamon simply didn't track Guilmon down herself and delete him.

Guilmon gave Takato a long, measured look. "Nothing bad can happen if you're right there with me," he told him. Takato wanted to feel comforted by his confidence, but he couldn't quite bring himself to do so.

"I don't know about that, Guilmon. You'd attract an awful lot of attention out here. The world is a lot scarier than I thought and I don't know if I can protect you."

"So…" Guilmon tilted his head to the side. "…you don't want to play then?"

"No! That not what I mean, it's just…"

He thought back to what Ms. Kamiya told him last night. True, the mysterious girl and her Renamon were probably still out, but should he let that get in the way of their hanging out?

"Hey, let's go. My teacher made a suggestion earlier that might help."

**###**

_"Stay out where there are lots of people and don't ever be alone if you can help it,"_ Ms. Kamiya had said. Her advice made sense when she explained it. The girl seemed to prefer fighting in isolated areas and where there were few witnesses, which might be why she hadn't been caught yet. The best thing to do in that case would be to not be alone. Shinjuku Park was a haven if you wanted to be alone and away from other people, but the city itself was the exact opposite. Crowded, bustling, and full of life with security cameras almost all over the place. If the girl was trying to avoid being seen when she went about her 'business', this was the best place to be.

There was just the matter of hoping other people accepted his being there. After all, digimon were an oddity in this day and age, and Guilmon was… _big_ for his level.

Still, there was no time like the present for experimenting, so out they went, together, into the wide, crowded world.

Takato could feel the eyes of onlookers, some worried, others merely surprised at the sight of a big, red dinosaur walking side-by-side with a goggle-wearing kid. He could imagine that they made quite the odd pair, but as yet no one seemed to be in a hurry to get away or bothered enough by Guilmon's presence to stir up any trouble.

So far so good.

A young boy holding the hand of his mother, no more than five or six years old, approached and stopped in awe at Guilmon, pointing up at him.

"Hey, what's that digimon's name?"

Turning, Takato first looked up at the mother, who appeared to be in a bit of a hurry but was willing to indulge her son for the moment before replying.

"He's called Guilmon," he said with a touch of pride in his voice.

"I don't know any Guilmon," the boy stated matter-of-factly, clearly having been brought up on the digimon encyclopedia known as the card game.

"Of course!" Takato chirped. "Because I created him!"

There was that prideful feeling again, rising up in full force. It wasn't bad though. How many people could lay claim to creating digimon? Hardly any if he recalled his history correctly.

"Really? Really?" The boy tugged at his mother's arm to get closer, one hand reaching out to pet Guilmon's scales. Takato knew from experience how they felt to the touch. Smooth like silk.

"It's very well made," the boy's mother said, pulling him away from the dinosaur, having finally reached the end of her patience. "Come on, let's go, Riku."

Takato and Guilmon stood there for a moment, waving goodbye to them as Takato felt a surge of relief wash through him.

"No one seems to care about it…" Takato breathed, a smile breaking across his face. "I guess I was worrying too much about this."

Once again Takato's digivice suddenly began ringing in alarm. Pulling it out, he found the screen glowing with an eerie red light. "Guilmon, check this out. What does it mean?"

In response, Guilmon looked skyward and sniffed the air. Growling, he abruptly took off, leaving Takato flummoxed at his partner's motives.

"Wait! Where are you going?! You can't run off by yourself!"

Either Guilmon didn't hear or he didn't care. In the end, he kept running, forcing Takato to chase after him in pursuit.

**###**

Renamon waited in the darkness of the parking garage, her blue eyes following the direction her senses told her that her company was coming. Finally, the shadow of her prey, Guilmon, painted itself upon the wall as the dinosaur descended down the ramp, the call of his Tamer indicating he was not far behind.

_"Guilmon, stop! Right now!"_

_It was smart of him to be in the city,_ she thought to herself, standing up from her kneeling position. _However…in the end he can't control his digimon. Newborns are slaves to their instincts, and this one is no different._

As Takato and Guilmon entered the garage, Rika slid out from behind a pillar to greet them. Seeing her, Takato stopped in his tracks. "It's you again…"

"Can't get anything past you, can I boy?" she said mockingly. "Are you ready to fight this time? Is your dinosaur out of diapers yet?"

Takato thought back to earlier in the afternoon when Kazu was talking about knowing _lots of girls who liked to fight._

_Well, here's one of them…_

"This is so stupid!" Takato exclaimed angrily. "Why should your digimon want to fight Guilmon? He hasn't done anything to her!"

"Duh," Rika said dismissively as if he were being particularly slow. "That is what digimon do. They _fight._ And when they win, they get stronger. And when they get stronger, they _digivolve._ You two are just our stepping stones."

"You _can't_ mean that!" Takato shot at her. "The Digidestined were able to digivolve their partners without…"

"…fighting?" she interrupted. "Give me a break. All they did was fight. Don't tell me you buy that nonsense."

_"Nonsense?"_ Takato's jaw dropped in shock. _But we don't want to fight!_ Or at least, that's what he would have said. The Renamon was too strong, and so was this girl! They were going to destroy Guilmon! "This isn't even a fair fight! You can't let her attack!"

At the word _attack,_ Guilmon's eyes dilated and he leapt forward with a snarl, leaving Takato to wave his hands fruitlessly.

"Guilmon! Not _you!"_

Renamon danced away from Guilmon and leapt up onto the roof of a car. In the darkness of the garage, she could see perfectly, and judging from Guilmon's movements, vision didn't appear to be a particular problem for him either. "Bring it on, big boy," she teased as he came to a halt in front of her. Rearing back, Guilmon's mouth opened, revealing an ember glow burning in the back of his throat.

_"Pyro Sphere!"_ he shouted, launching a fireball at the vulpine digimon. Renamon deftly dodged it as Takato screamed his name.

_"Guilmon!"_


	15. Episode 3: The Ruination of the Battlefield

Ken sat outside an Internet café, sipping his coffee while flipping through the news on his data pad. Across from him, Wormmon was on the table, spindly legs holding onto a glass of soda and sipping away merrily. It was a bit early in the day, but the higher metabolism digimon had often required them to have food and drink that offered quick and large bursts of energy when in the real world. They were largely powered by emotion, but they still had very real physical limitations.

Davis and DemiVeemon, for once, were not with them due to an issue that came up with his ramen company, making the day's investigations a little easier.

_I'm sorry Davis,_ he thought, feeling a bit guilty about that.

"Ahhh…" Wormmon gasped, basking in the glow of his drink as he withdrew from its straw. "That was good." He turned to look at Ken and frowned a little. "You're doing it again."

"Doing what?" Ken asked absently, not looking up from the news.

"You're over-thinking your partnership with Davis. He'll get the hang of it. He's just…a bit out of practice."

The pad clicked on the table as Ken set it down gently. Leaning forward, he threaded his fingers together over his mouth, scowling slightly.

"Physically, he's out of practice," Ken clarified. "But things like running a beat, investigation… He never had much of a head for puzzles. He's a good friend and we'll need him obviously, but…I'm not sure how well he'll fit."

Reaching over, he picked up his coffee mug and took a sip. "Well… It's still a little early to be worrying about that. He'll find a place in all of this. He wants this, so he'll work for it." Ken smiled fondly at that. "He always came through in the past."

Wormmon nodded. "So what's on the agenda today?" he asked.

"Takeru is investigating the battle site from yesterday…finally. Took him long enough. Sometimes I wonder about him." He shook his head. "And there's the continuing trend of digimon disappearing. A Gabumon was reported as not showing up for work. I have Megumi and Miki investigating the scene and…" The _beep_ of his pad interrupted him and he picked it back up. "…and that would be them now."

Tapping the screen he flipped through the message. "Interesting… There's ice damage at the scene, indicating a struggle, but the data doesn't match."

"That doesn't sound like a Renamon," Wormmon noted.

"Yeah…" Ken tapped a finger against his chin. "It ties back into the ice digimon case. Still… Given what happened with Takato… Maybe they're working together? Seems like an unusual coincidence. The Renamon and her partner appear to go about attacking digimon. The fact that a partnered digimon is doing this doesn't make sense. Why would they…?" Ken scowled as a thought occurred to him.

"Do you think it has anything to do with the loading technique dark digimon used during the war?" Wormmon asked, second guessing him.

"Maybe…" Ken replied thoughtfully. "It's a way to get power after all, but digimon partnered with humans don't…"

He trailed off as he heard the sounds of explosions, distant and muffled, but just loud enough to be heard. His black and grey digivice buzzed, indicating that it was detecting digimon.

Picking up his pad, Ken got up from his seat. "Time to get to work, Wormmon."

**###**

_"Stop it!"_ Takato shouted, desperately hoping Guilmon would hear him and not engage Renamon in battle. It was no use though. He had already committed to his attack, launching a fireball at the vulpine adversary. Renamon easily dodged the attack and countered with her _Diamond Storm,_ but just as in their previous encounter, the attack merely bounced off his scales, doing no damage. Frowning, she landed behind the dinosaur as he followed her. Guilmon snarled, or rather it came out as an awkward squawk. Renamon smirked, amused.

"Oh! Was that supposed to scare me?" she asked. Guilmon advanced on her, not even hearing her taunt. All that mattered was that there was an enemy in front of him. An enemy that needed to be destroyed. Renamon danced back a pace, keeping distance between them. "You must have a lovely singing voice," she taunted.

"Guilmon!" Takato called again, running up to stand a short distance ahead of Rika, who simply stood there, one hand on her hip while calmly assessing the battle. "Uh…down boy?" He looked at the girl again, knowing that it was useless to try and persuade her to call off her digimon, but hope rang eternal in his heart. "Please, you've got to call her off!"

Rika, for her part, simply snorted derisively at him and returned her attention to the matter at hand. She wasn't worried about the _Gogglehead._ He was a hopeless coward in her eyes and nothing in the least to be concerned about.

_"What's going on in here?!"_ shouted a voice as a door slammed open, drawing all battle to a halt. Rika's head snapped in the direction of its source, finding the boy from yesterday with his Terriermon sitting on the top of his head.

_Speaking of cowards I don't need to be concerned about…_ she thought as Takato ran toward him.

"Thank goodness," the goggle-wearing boy said in relief.

"Don't make me laugh," Rika said scornfully as Terriermon hopped down, seemingly ready to do battle. "Do you really think that weenie little bunny can stand up to Renamon?"

"Who you callin' a weenie?!" Terriermon exclaimed indignantly, placing his tiny paws on his hips. "Henry, I think that qualifies as rude!"

Rika dipped her head slightly, her scowl intensifying, uncertain as to how seriously to take the diminutive digimon.

"Yeah, that seems to be going around here right now, Terriermon," Henry said, looking at Rika. "You and Renamon are partners. Why would you want to kill someone else's partner? I mean, it's true that on the net digimon are born to fight, but that doesn't mean they should fight here or even fight at all! I don't understand… Why you're doing this?"

"When you figure it out Sherlock, let me know," Rika evaded. "Until then, Renamon? You know what I expect!"

Crossing her arms together, Renamon bowed. "As you wish!"

As if her words were a signal, Guilmon charged toward her, a low, guttural growl in the back of his throat. Battle was about to be joined.

"Hmmm…" Terriermon giggled, admiring his reflection in the car before spotting Guilmon barreling toward Renamon. Making a snap decision, he dashed forward just as she jumped into the air.

_"Diamond Storm!"_ she called, slashing her arms away from her and summoning a storm cloud of glowing, razor-sharp crystals…just in time for Terriermon to abruptly appear in front of Guilmon, forcing him to stop dead in his tracks, startled. Renamon's eyes went wide as she gasped in surprise.

_"Get back!"_ she shouted.

_"Terriermon!"_ Henry screamed as the diamonds began their deadly descend, striking the area where the long-eared digimon stood. The ground exploded as Henry dashed forward. _"No!"_

And then…a miracle; but a miracle born of nightmares. Light streamed from Henry's digivice and shot into the burning, black smoke threatening to choke them all. Henry stopped running, all the strength in his body running dry as he saw the shell of emerald data glow within the smoke cloud. He knew what was happening, even if he hoped…wished…

"He promised me that he wouldn't do it," he whispered, hearing Terriermon pronounce his digivolution.

_"Terriermon! Digivolve tooo…Gargomon!"_

The shell of data exploded, blowing away the smoke and snuffing out the fire. Terriermon's new form, Gargomon, was much larger than his previous form; easily the size of any of the children. Green fur dominated his body now, and along with it he wore blue pants and an ammunition belts slung along his body.

Where his paws had been were two, multi-barreled mini-guns with claws attached to their ends.

"That's Terriermon?" Takato exclaimed, bringing up his digivice to try scanning him. "No way!"

Takato didn't get a chance to call up the information. Almost immediately, Gargomon raised his arms and the Vulcan cannons attached to his arms began firing green energy blasts. Gargomon rocked back and forth from the recoil, shots punching holes through cars and igniting their fuel.

"T-This is hard!" Gargomon shouted, practically spinning in place now as he attempted to control his power and failed. "Sorry…" he whispered as another vehicle exploded, narrowly missing Henry and Takato as they ducked behind a car. It wasn't likely to offer them any decent protection, but at this point they were more focused on having _something_ between them and the rampaging digimon, if only so that they wouldn't become targets themselves.

For Gargomon's part, the sound of laser blasts shooting out of his gun barrels as they rotated, the heat of fire as vehicles exploded…they touched something inside of him. Such power! He wanted more! More destruction! More devastation! It was _fun!_ It was…almost like a game… _The game…_

_He's out of control!_ Renamon thought from her perch up in the ceiling. This was bad. This whole battle had spun completely beyond anything she had expected. Her first instinct was to simply grab Rika and get out of the area before the authorities arrived, but a quick look at the two boys hiding behind the car reigned in her instincts. As little as she cared for their safety, she felt a distinct responsibility for what was going on. Should she abandon them, what would become of them? And what then would become of digimon residing in the real world once humans decided there was a need to crack down on them.

_No… I can't just escape with Rika._ She tightened her fists at her resolve. _I have to fight._

"Gargomon, Terriermon's Champion form!" Rika read off her digivice, looking up with an expression of surprised uncertainty and eagerness at the challenge. "What a difference! His attack's _Gargo Laser_ whatever that…huh?"

Looking up, her eagerness shrunk as she saw Gargomon standing there just ahead of her, gun barrels smoking while he cackled. He was looking right at her.

It was just then that Renamon dropped out of the ceiling and onto Gargomon's back, wracking his eyes with her claws. She no longer cared about what actions she felt comfortable with. She had only one thought on her mind.

_I've got to stop this little gun bunny before he hurts Rika!_

"Way to go Renamon!" Rika shouted, regaining herself. "Now's your chance!"

Gargomon struggled and squirmed, firing in every direction in a bid to free himself while Renamon did likewise to keep herself from being thrown off. She heard Rika, but found herself flummoxed by the girl's words. _Now's my chance?! What is she…? She doesn't realize what's going on!_

Finally the Champion's struggles became too much, forcing Renamon to retreat back up to the ceiling where a series of laser blasts quickly followed her, shattering the ceiling and causing both it, and her, to plummet to the ground in a pile of smoke and fire.

All while this was going on, Calumon, who had flown in to investigate the smoke, shrunk his ears into his head, a sad look crossing his face.

"Doesn't he know he doesn't have to act like this?"

"This is just…so _wrong!"_ Henry shouted over the explosions. Seeing a massive chunk of concrete come crashing toward them, Takato grabbed hold of Henry and forcefully pulled him out of the way.

_"Henry!"_ Takato shouted, nearly emptying his bowels then and there as the concrete shattered and crushed the car that served as their shield. The two collapsed onto the floor together, eyes stinging as dust bit into them. "H-Henry!" Takato coughed. "We've…We've got to get…"

He had been about to say _help_ when a gust of wind blew over them, clearing their vision of the concrete particles and the smoke. Both boys looked up to see a humanoid, insect-like figure approach them, setting down a dark-haired man with grey-colored eyes. They both instantly recognized him as Ken Ichijouji.

"Ken!" Takato exclaimed with relief. "We have a problem…"

"So I see," Ken nodded, spying Gargomon as the dust cleared away. "Stingmon?"

"I'm on it," the insectoid digimon replied, dashing forward. His wings spread out instantly as he surged closer. He didn't as yet extend his arm lance, hoping to be able to disable Gargomon without too much trouble.

_If I recall Henry's case files, that shouldn't be too hard. Gargomon is newly digivolved, so he shouldn't have much experience under his belt…_

Stingmon suddenly had reason to question that line of thought when the gun-toting rabbit spun around with an eerie speed and rapidly took aim at him.

_Uh oh…_

Doing a roll in midair, Stingmon quickly changed course so that when Gargomon fired it wouldn't be in the direction of his partner or the kids. For his part, Gargomon tracked him, even leading him a little, before firing off a couple rounds. Stingmon felt the blasts strike him and he raised his gauntlets protectively. The shots hurt, and with good reason. Gargomon was a Vaccine digimon of the Wind Guardian family's militarized arm, whereas he was a Virus—the very type that Gargomon was specifically built to take down.

_If this fight goes on for too long, it will not end well,_ Stingmon thought, trying to find the right angle of attack but finding none. There was scant room in here for him to use his wings to their fullest extent. Gargomon's attacks followed him easily, burning and cracking his exoskeleton. Deciding to bite the bullet, Stingmon rushed in, smashing a clawed fist into Gargomon's face while having a piece of his shoulder guard blown off in the process. Gargomon grunted, bleeding digital data from around his eyes, but did not so much as budge from Stingmon's attack. Instead, he followed up with a vicious whip of his arm, smashing it across Stingmon's armored head, causing him to smash into a pillar with enough force to blow off a chunk of it and send cracks spiraling up the remainder of the support structure.

_"Stingmon!"_ Ken shouted, seeing his partner crumple to the ground. He doubted that the attack seriously hurt him, but it was clear that he was vulnerable until he could shake himself back up to fighting form. Now the only digimon that appeared to be left to oppose Gargomon was Guilmon, and he merely contented himself to stand there, standing in stark confusion as to what was going on around him.

Gargomon, however, seemed to have no such problems as he swung his head around, searching for another target.

"This is exactly what I was afraid of," Henry whispered, catching Ken's attention. "He's just not ready for this kind of firepower yet…"

"Henry!" Ken interjected, grabbing hold of his shoulder. "Can you reach your partner? Get him to calm down?"

"I…"

_"Rika! No!"_

All eyes turned up at the horrified shout. Renamon was struggling to free herself from the pile of rubble that trapped her, but despite her struggles, she was not getting out fast enough.

For Gargomon now had his cannons aimed at the girl's head.

**###**

No more attacks came at him. He was victorious. He could hear the shouts and calls of one of the humans, but they were weak. No real threat. Their data was worthless to him in this world.

Although…

He spied the red-haired girl, who was suddenly looking a lot less certain than she had earlier. She sent the Renamon to attack Guilmon. She was the one behind the merciless attacks going on against digimon all across the city. She would have forced him to fight eventually if she didn't stop. She would stop at nothing. She was a murderer. A criminal. She didn't care who she hurt and she didn't care about her partner.

She also called him a weenie.

Raising his gun cannon, Gargomon took aim at her face. She took a step away, only for her back to hit the pillar behind her. Her previous expression of confidence now dissolved into a fear too raw to give itself voice. Gargomon giggled.

_Who's the weenie now?_ he thought.

**###**

Once, Takato had discarded his dream as nothing more than his overactive imagination—something he had abundance of. Then he met the girl who appeared in it and his whole world stopped making sense.

Dreams didn't normally come true. Granted, Guilmon was a dream that did, but he never dream of people he didn't know and then have them show up in reality, least of all with a desire to do him harm. It made no sense to have this girl appear in his life, and in the time that followed since their first encounter he wondered about her, why she attacked him, why she seemed to be so… _cold_ and abrasive in how she went about things. What happened to her that made her that way?

A part of him hoped to never find out. Hoped that she would vanish into the dream she came from and never bother him again. If nothing else, he hoped to never meet her again.

Yet, seeing her with a gun pointed to her head, her fear at the risk of death standing naked for all to see, the image branded itself into his mind, and with it, he found voice where she couldn't.

He hated seeing people fight. Hated it even more when people got hurt. Buried deep within himself was a desire to protect; to keep safe all that he could. Now it unearthed itself and roared to life. He felt a spark…and something shoot out of him like a wave of fire. Before he even called his partner's name, Guilmon was already moving. As the word left his mouth, the digimon leapt and was hurtling headlong into Gargomon.

The gun rose toward Rika, and Takato saw the feint glimmer of light powering up within the barrels. Takato felt a surge of _something_ rise up in him, causing the air to warp ever so slightly within the parking lot.

_No…_ NO!

Guilmon slammed into Gargomon with thunderous force just then, sending them both careening into the wall, Gargomon's shot going wide. The wall exploded from the impact, bits of concrete flying free. The two digimon collapsed to the ground, the fight going completely out of Gargomon. After taking a second to catch his breath, Guilmon looked up over his shoulder in the direction of the others.

"Are you all right?" he asked, unknowingly echoing Takato's unspoken question as he drew up—much to his surprise—next to Rika. He hadn't even been aware that he moved. One second, he was over with Henry and in the next…

"Ah…h-hello?" he asked tentatively, reaching out uncertainly but stopping himself just short, not knowing what to do or how to act. She had tried to kill Guilmon but…in spite of himself, he found that he couldn't hate her for it. Not with seeing her like this. The girl just stood there, holding one hand to her chest as she desperately tried to calm herself. She was shaking. Her eyes were wide and for the first time since he met her he could read the storm of emotions in them. It almost felt like he could tell what she was thinking.

_Are they always like that when they digivolve?_

"U-Um… Hey…" Takato's body was caught in conflict with itself, wanting to move closer and comfort her, but fearing what her reaction would be if he tried. "I-It's okay," he continued, compromising with the two warring sides and settling for just talking. "It's…It's over. He won't hurt you. I promise."

Finally taking notice of him, the girl abruptly snapped shut the windows displaying her emotions and she took a step back. Her violet eyes met his crimson ones and she narrowed hers into dangerous slits. She was still shaking, but whether it was from fear or rage he couldn't tell.

_Come to think of it, I'm shaking too,_ he thought. He also noticed that he felt _immensely_ tired; as if he had just run a marathon. He wondered if he was in shock, but with the haze of exhaustion settling over his mind he couldn't be at all sure.

Ken stepped into view then, placing a hand on Takato's shoulder and, lightly, pushing him to the side.

"Miss," he began. "Under the authority of the Japanese government in accordance to the Digital Life Forms Act, I hereby place you…"

Not even bothering to wait for him to finish, Rika broke to the side and took off at a run. Within short order, Renamon materialized out of thin air next to her and took her into her arms.

Takato had only a second in which their eyes met one final time before she vanished from view, leaving them alone in the ruins of the parking lot as sirens drew closer.


	16. Episode 4:  Henry

"I should have known you'd be involved."

Ken looked up to see Takeru approaching, lighter flicking in one hand. He narrowed his eyes at the light-haired man and nodded courteously.

"Takaishi," he said.

"Is your partner around here?"

"I'm right here, you know," Wormmon said in annoyance as he crawled up from Ken's arms and onto his shoulder. A bandage was wrapped around his body and head, signaling his injuries.

"He means Davis, Wormmon," Ken answered. "And no, he's not. Is there something I can help you with? I've already given your agents my statement."

"I look forward to reading it then," Takeru said. "Though I'd much rather hear it from you."

"There was a battle between two digimon," Ken replied. "One of them is a new partnership in a case I'm working on. I've submitted the proper paperwork already, but you can double check if you want…"

"I will," Takeru nodded, "though I suspect that I won't find anything amiss. In spite of our differences, you are thorough about your work." Taking off his sunglasses, he fixed Wormmon with a look that was oddly concerned. "How are you holding up?"

"I feel like I've been punched through a concrete pillar," Wormmon said bluntly, though his tone was a touch jovial. Takeru's expression softened and he smiled slightly.

"I suspect it's nothing you can't walk off," he returned. Ken felt a ghost of a smile twitching at the corners of his lips. For the briefest of moments, it felt like the years had not gone by and they were teenagers again, back when things made more sense. The moment passed though as Takeru's smile slipped and the warm concern in his eyes cooled.

_Back to business…_ Ken thought.

"You mentioned two digimon. Was the second one the ice digimon that's been eluding us?"

Ken hesitated, but shook his head. "No," he sighed. "And this one bothers me. It's partnered to a human…a girl…and she lured the new digimon and his partner into a trap. I don't know who she is. She's not on any of the registered partners in my database."

"Your report…"

"…has a description, yes," Ken nodded. He hadn't been at all certain if that was the right thing to do, but in the end he decided to have it in the report. The sooner she was caught, the better, especially since she targeted Takato and Guilmon twice.

_Besides, if Takeru found out I left anything_ else _out of my report about this incident, he could very well suspend my license and even arrest me. Keeping Henry out of this is going to be hard enough as it is…_

He wondered how the boy was doing. _At least Gargomon calmed down after Guilmon smacked some sense into him…_

**###**

"Who knew Terriermon had it in him?" Takato asked aloud before blanching a little and looking at Henry worriedly to see if he was upset. The grey-eyed boy's expression didn't so much as flinch, but Takato felt within his gut that he was upset. "Sorry Henry," he began anew, setting himself down on the ground. "Hey, don't worry about it! After all, Gargomon didn't really hurt anyone. That girl's fine."

Henry still did not budge from his spot by the tree. He didn't seem particularly interested in making conversation, causing Takato to sigh mentally, wondering if there was anything he could do to put him at ease.

"Look Takatomon I can walk on my hands!" crowed Guilmon, as if on cue. Turning, Takato saw his giant partner walking on said appendages, legs dangling in the air. As he giggled. A quirky smile tugged at his lips and he glanced at Henry to see what he thought.

_Sheesh. The rocks show more than he is right now…_ Takato thought helplessly as behind him Guilmon tumbled to the ground, unable to keep his balance any longer.

"It's easier when you cheat," groaned Gargomon across from him, balancing precariously on his cannons, body trembling from the strain. His face still bore the claw marks from Renamon's attack, but they were rapidly healing over. "Can I stop now?" he asked Henry, his muscles crying out for relief. "This is a real pain in the neck."

Henry shook his head.

"Not yet," he replied, causing Gargomon to groan in despair. Turning onto his knees, Takato crawled over to Gargomon and looked him over curiously.

"Do you really think this'll turn him back to Terriermon?" he asked. This had been an interesting development he hadn't expected. In everything he read about digimon growing up, partnered digimon tended to revert to a lower form—usually Rookie but occasionally the even lower form of In-Training—once danger had passed. Gargomon for some reason proved to be the exception to the rule and had remained in Champion form ever since Ken arrived at the parking lot.

"It has to," Henry said with a touch of exasperation in his voice. "I sure can't take him home as Gargomon, now can I? He's too big! Can you imagine what my parents would say? They'd freak!"

_Well, he has guns for hands,_ Takato doing just that as he stood up. "You've got a point. It's too bad Ken and Wormmon don't know how partner digimon de-digivolve on their own. I wonder if Davis or Ms. Kamiya know…"

"I doubt it," Henry replied with a shake of his head. "They're both Digidestined and they worked together. It would make sense that if they knew so would Mr. Ichijouji."

"Oh." Takato's shoulders deflated at that. "Hey, maybe since he digivolved on his own, he can figure out a way to de-digivolve. I mean, this must happen to digimon all the time, especially the Rookies."

At Henry's silence, Takato pressed his lips together and offered another suggestion. "Hey, maybe that girl would know. Should we ask her?"

"I'm not going to ask her, _you_ ask her!" Henry snapped, causing Takato to blink in response at the sharpness.

"Sorry. It was a stupid idea. I mean, we don't even know who she is or where she lives…"

"Not to mention she tried to kill Guilmon…" Gargomon noted, wobbling on his arms.

"Ah…yeah… Sorry."

Henry sighed. "No, I'm sorry. I know you're just trying to help but…we'll figure something out."

At that, Guilmon, who had been continuing in his attempts to stay on his hands, once again toppled to the ground with a crash, causing Gargomon to giggle at the sight. "Guilmon fall down and go boom!"

Takato sighed at Gargomon as he switched to balancing on one arm just to show off. "Hopefully his mouth will de-digivolve first…"

"I doubt it," Henry said, sharing no confidence in that possibility.

Guilmon, having decided to be the digimon-that-could, was back on his hands and wobbling along. "N-Now I got i…oh!"

It was to no avail however, as the red dragon toppled to the ground again. Takato allowed a small smile to grace his features at the sight.

"Nice try," he chuckled before glancing up at the steadily darkening sky. "Come on, it's time to go home." He turned toward Henry. "Thanks for showing up today. I mean, despite what happened, I don't know what we would have done if you didn't."

"Yeah," Henry nodded solemnly. "No problem."

"By Henry. Good luck Gargomon," Takato waved as he and Guilmon departed. Henry watched them go for a moment before heaving another sigh. Folding his arms over his chest, he leaned against a tree. For now, there was nothing to do except to wait.

**###**

Night settled over Shinjuku and the city began to buckle down to sleep. The Matsuki Bakery was now closed and the family that operated it was now having its well-deserved rest. Takato found himself in the tub, splashing about a little as he thought about the day's events. He had calmed down considerably, though worries continued to eat away at him.

Digivolving. Ironically, he hadn't really considered it when designing Guilmon, or rather he simply hadn't gotten that far in his thinking process once his digivice arrived in his life. How did it occur? And more importantly…

"I wonder what Guilmon will be like when he digivolves?" he asked aloud before ducking his head underwater, allowing the heat of the bath to envelop him as he thought back to the battle at the garage and how much Gargomon had changed in the blink of an eye. It was a great unknown for him and he had to admit to feeling a touch worried. What would Guilmon look like? How strong would he be? Did he control that because he created Guilmon? Or was there something else going on that he knew nothing about?

Splashing up and taking a breath, he found himself with no answers. "I sure hope he doesn't get any bigger than Gargomon."

**###**

Time passed, and Gargomon continued to stand on his gun-barrels, watching Henry with a bit of a sorrowful look on his face. The boy had nodded off at some point despite still standing. He felt bad for breaking his promise to him, but what choice was there? The entire situation had him keyed up and ready to go, and when the attack came and he heard Henry's shout…it was as if something had snapped inside him.

He wondered…briefly…whether it was him or Henry that had actually snapped.

After all, hadn't that been what happened just prior to when they met in the real world and became partners?

As his thoughts swirled around in his head, he felt something else let go…something _escaping_ him. With a soft glow of light surrounding his body, he found the world suddenly looking much larger.

**###**

_A game… It's all just a game to her,_ Henry thought in the midst of dozing where he stood. Their brief conversation with the girl remained branded on his mind. Takato had said to him that she saw Guilmon and himself as mere 'stepping stones' to bigger, greater things, chief of which involved digivolving. _But why? Doesn't she know that it's wrong to kill digimon? The War should have taught her that digimon are alive. What's her deal?_

_But then…it's not like I knew that from the start…_ he thought, thinking back to a much earlier time. In his mind, he heard a computerized version of Terriermon shouting, _"Bunny Blast!"_ followed quickly by a congratulatory theme tune…all of which was quickly drowned out by terrible sound of bone being snapped in two and a boy screaming in pain…

"Henry!" came the shout of Terriermon, interrupting his thoughts and shaking him out of his doze. "Henry! Where are you?"

At once, Henry collected himself and pushed away from the tree. Gargomon was nowhere near his tree, causing him to look around frantically. "Over here, Terriermon!" he called, and at once the long-eared digimon ran out of the trees, his expression becoming at ease now that they found each other again. Stopping in front of the boy, Terriermon bowed slightly to catch his breath before looking up to meet his eyes.

"Can we go home now?" he asked. Henry smiled.

"Glad to see you back to your old self," he said, allowing his partner to climb onto his shoulder and then make his way onto his head.

"Sorry about today," Terriermon apologized. "I just couldn't help it."

"I told you not to digivolve," Henry scolded. "I was just about to move you in with Guilmon."

"I didn't mean to do it," Terriermon said in a softer voice. When Henry didn't answer, Terriermon hugged the sides of his head with his ears. "Come on Henry, momentai."

Henry still didn't answer, and instead they continued their journey together in silence.

**###**

Two digimon playing cards lay on the table, one depicting Gargomon and the other that of a Renamon. A pale hand placed two more cards beside Renamon while its owner _tsked._

Rika Nonaka was not happy.

"That little weenie digivolves on his own while Renamon stays the same even with _two_ modify cards!" Rika looked at the cards in her other hand and fanned through them, one of them containing a digivice modify card that, for some reason, never worked like the others did. Not even any of the crest cards she had or the Digi-egg cards.

_Not that they matter right now,_ she thought to herself. _It's too early. Still…_

She wondered what other combos she could use to combat Gargomon. The Champion was too tough for her Armor card and today already showed that even a speed upgrade card wouldn't matter much. Renamon had a type advantage over Gargomon and the battle was still very one-sided, an odd dilemma given that she had very handily defeated Fugamon not too long ago and _he_ had the advantage in type over Renamon. Was she really that unbeatable for Champions like she thought? Especially since Guilmon—a Rookie—was able to resist her attacks without even flinching?

"What do those Goggleheads have that I don't, huh?" she asked herself aloud. "This is ridiculous."

From out of the corner of her eye, she caught Renamon leaning against the door to her room. Narrowing her gaze, she returned her attention to her cards in the hopes of laying out a battle plan. She wasn't sure if there would be any more chances though. The news was abuzz with reports of their battle in the parking garage, though fortunately no names or descriptions had been given. She wondered if that had been deliberate. It was possible. She remembered hearing the dark-haired boy saying something about Terriermon 'promising he wouldn't do it'…promising not to digivolve.

She supposed she couldn't blame him. Gargomon was most decidedly not built to be an indoors digimon with those Vulcan cannons of his, and with the way he went wild during their fight... Rika barely repressed a shudder at the memory of those guns being pointed at her face. Not very friendly at all.

The other boy, the stupid one with the goggles, seemed to recognize that too.

_At least he's not completely brain dead,_ she thought, remembering the way he looked when they locked eyes. It was as if he felt what she did just then. _Although that still doesn't explain what he's doing with a Hazard digimon._

_Then again, he's just a little kid who probably thought he was being thrown into an adventure or something stupid like that. I wish I had an idea what his digimon's stats were so I could work out a way for dealing with it. His data could…_

Closing her eyes to compose herself, she remembered that the digimon _had_ saved her from Gargomon's rampage.

_No… Gargomon's the bigger threat. I'll save dino-boy for last. In the meantime…_

She glanced at Renamon again. "You'd better digivolve _soon_ Renamon," she said coldly. "I'm not going to be threatened by some overgrown rabbit."


	17. Episode 4: Future Darkness

The dark cloud that obscured the face of the digital world began to collapse in on itself, becoming considerably smaller now. Its shape changed, taking on a humanoid visage. One with horns on its head. It had all the makings of a devil from western lore, causing Matt to shudder.

"We're too late," Matt said. From his spot on the ground, one of their ship's meals sitting on his lap, Gabumon hung his head.

"Sorry Matt. I was just so tired…"

"Don't worry about it," Tai interrupted. "At least this way it'll be even easier. I recognize that form. Apocalymon is using the remnants of his bodies data to create Mephistomon." He narrowed his eyes. "But why isn't he just reformatting instead? I don't get it."

"It could be a glitch in his data from when you destroyed his primary body," Izzy suggested, approaching the quartet with his laptop in hand. "His polygon form is still out there, so he might instead be mass-producing Viruses in order to create an agent that will do what he can't."

"As good of a reason as any I guess," Matt said before turning to Tai. "All right. So what's the plan now that Gabumon is back on his feet? Digivolve to Omnimon?"

"There's no better plan that I can think of," Tai nodded. "He has the power to back him up. Mephistomon may only be an Ultimate, but we don't know how strong he'll be thanks to Apocalymon."

"Hit 'em hard and fast?" Agumon asked.

"You bet." Tai turned to Matt. "Are you ready?"

Matt nodded and as one they raised their digivices to the sky. Digivolving to Omnimon was easier in the Internet, but the digital world was an excellent compromise. _If we were in the real world we might never pull this off._

Light emerged from the screens of their digivices and shot out at Agumon and Gabumon as they both got into position.

_"Agumon…"_ the orange dinosaur intoned as his body took on the shape of the WarGreymon arm of Omnimon.

_"Gabumon…"_ the blue-furred wolf spoke as his body did likewise with the MetalGarurumon portion.

_"…Warp DNA digivolve tooo…"_ they said as one, an armored figure appearing between them and lifting the arms up. _"Omnimon!"_

Their evolution finished, the towering, white-knight shot into the air, his cape billowing behind him as he readied his weapons.

The data of the Mephistomon solidified and finished taking shape. Opening his eyes, he saw the knight storming toward him, steeled for combat. Within his mind, he heard a dark force give a dark laugh.

_"Your time to awaken has come, dark child."_

In a second, the viral Ultimate knew who it was that spoken; knew his oncoming opponent, and everything that had happened prior to his 'birth'. Raising his hands, he sent a stream of dark mist blasting in all directions, obscuring Omnimon's vision.

"Mephistomon!" Omnimon shouted, coming up short to the border of the mist. "Show yourself! You can't escape me!"

"What have I done?" Mephistomon asked from the shadows. Omnimon craned his head, trying to locate the source of his voice. "Why do you wish to destroy me?"

"It's not what you've done, it's what you're _going_ to do!" Omnimon declared.

"That hardly seems fair," Mephistomon snorted. "Judging a digimon on what they haven't done? Not very knightly of you."

"Neither is destroying everything on Earth, but since you were created from Apocalymon's data and that was his goal, I know that is what you intend to do as well!" Omnimon swung his head around. "Don't deny it! You were programmed by him right from the start to do his dirty work!"

Omnimon's pupils dilated as the mist began to clear. "Aha! There you are!"

Mephistomon appeared before him, grinning as best as he could with his ram-shaped head. "I didn't think you'd be able to figure out my father's plan, Omnimon," he said. "But since you have there's no choice but to _destroy you!"_

Raising his hands again, he sent a storm of pink energy smashing into the white knight digimon, who fell back with a surprised cry. Omnimon quickly recovered though and charged at Mephistomon, closing the distance rapidly. From his WarGreymon arm, his Transcendent Sword snapped out and he proceeded to hack and slash at the dark digimon. Mephistomon deftly dodged the attacks and fell back, trying to gain some distance, knowing full well the power that was contained within the digi-code emblazoned on the blade. He tried again to counter attack, this time putting even more power into it, but Omnimon easily avoided the attack, and the next several that rained in after.

_It's no good,_ Mephistomon thought. _He's too powerful. I cannot best him in single combat…_

"I will _stop you!"_ Omnimon shouted, raising his MetalGarurumon arm. The jaws opened and a cannon appeared, energy glowing at its tip.

_Time to retreat,_ Mephistomon thought, mouthing his spells while taking aim with his next attack. _If I do this just right, Omnimon will grant me entry to the real world…_

_"Supreme Cannon!"_ Omnimon shouted, firing with all his might at the exact same time that Mephistomon fired his attack. The two attacks collided, but the end result was never in any doubt. Mephistomon's attack was easily overwhelmed and he was struck by the blast, sending him careening backwards…

…but not very far, as he abruptly stopped, a glow appearing behind him as if he had just struck a barrier.

_"Agumon?"_ Gabumon asked, sensing the reptile's sudden realization in his mind. _"What…?"_

_"He must have used a spell! He's using our power to create a gateway to the real world! We've got to stop him!"_

Not trusting their cannon to change anything, Omnimon surged forward, this time blade first. Seeing this, Mephistomon let out a loud laugh as space glowed and bent backwards behind him, creating a wormhole.

"Sorry Omnimon! You lose!" he crowed in victory, disappearing into the realm of the humans.

"No!" Omnimon cursed as Mephistomon's laughter continued to ring in his ears. "He escaped…"

Now he heard another voice laughing. This time it was Apocalymon's.

_"My child will not fail me,"_ he said. _"Everything you have fought for will be for nothing. Darkness will rule your world and everything in it will be burnt to ash."_

Omnimon looked at Apocalymon's geometric body and narrowed his eyes.

"That may be," he said, raising his Supreme Cannon and taking aim. "But you won't be there to see it."

The digital world then became awash with white light as Apocalymon's final laughter died.

**###**

"You're sure he went to the real world?" Matt asked. Tai nodded.

"No doubt about it now. You heard Mephistomon after all. That's his end goal. The problem is, we can't just do what he did and go to the real world. I can't even go there normally. TK threw up a firewall covering most of the portals. The only sure way left is to do what Mephistomon did and punch our way through…"

"…which would be bad from where we are because if we did that we'd end up in space that doesn't care if we believe in it or not." Matt scowled and looked at their sleeping partners, who had now regressed to Tsunomon and Koromon—the In-Training forms of Gabumon and Agumon respectively—out of exhaustion. "Well, at least JAXA knows what's going on. They'll be sure to pass it along to the government."

_"Uh… About that…"_ began Tentomon. Matt's eye twitched.

"There's always a catch…"

"Tentomon?" Izzy asked. "What happened?"

_"I lost my connection to JAXA as soon as Mephistomon created that mist. Its properties may be interfering with the signal, but I'm not entirely sure. I've been trying to clear it up, but so far no luck."_

"Of course," Matt said sarcastically. "Why would we catch a break, right?"

"Calm down, Matt," Tai grinned. "If there's one thing we'll be able to count on it's going to be time. Mephistomon won't be able to work openly after all. The real world is too secure for him to just rampage around like a Wild One."

"This is true," Izzy acknowledged. "But I should point out that without any information, it'll be difficult to notice him as he integrates himself into human society. The more time he has to bury himself, the greater the chance he has to not get noticed at all until it's too late."

"It won't happen in one day," Tai said. "So we at least have that on our side." He turned his attention to their two partners. "And these two guys need to rest up. We're not going anywhere without them. Not unless you can get that rocket ship flying again."

"We'd have better luck getting Davis to understand trigonometry," Matt sighed, scratching the back of his head in resignation.

**###**

_Ka-pow!_

The word had been ringing in Takato's head all day. Ever since last night he had thoughts going in his head about how Guilmon would digivolve. Could he digivolve if he never drew the future forms? If so, what would he look like? He tried to envision it and set about creating one possibility after another, culminating in something that looked like a cross between Flamedramon, Guilmon, and something else that looked vaguely punk-rock like involving spiked wrist bands. He had been excited at the time, but now he wasn't so sure.

_That form makes him a little…overpowered. Could Guilmon handle all that power? I mean, he's still kind of young, and there's that hazard symbol too. That makes me worried._ He thought about Gargomon and how he had been when he lost control of himself. _Maybe I should dial it back…_

"There we go," crowed Kazu in triumph as he tore open the digimon booster pack he had bought with his hard-earned yen. Taking them out of the pack, he sifted through them in short order before turning to Takato, grinning. "Loook… New modify cards."

"Uh…yeah…" Takato replied passively, not really paying much attention. Kazu was always trying to make a big deal out of the cards he got. He seemed to like puffing his chest up.

If Kazu was insulted by Takat's lack of response, he didn't show it. Instead he just handed him a single card. "Here, you can have this lame one, I don't need it."

Taking the card, Takato looked at it. "What are Training Grips?"

"Sheesh! Don't you know anything?" Kazu asked, rolling his eyes. "They make your Rookie big and strong so you can stomp out the enemy!" He made rowing gestures with his arms as though he were lifting weights. "It's like Resistance Training? You probably won't use it, but maybe you can get some sucker to trade for it."

"Yeah…sure…"

Kazu sniffed. _Now_ he was insulted. "Okay. Looks like you're totally out of the loop today. C'mon Kenta. Let's go. Chumley can hook up with us later when he's not in hanging out around Pluto."

"Yeah, okay…"

Takato watched them go, a grim look on his face. He wanted to explain to them that he had a lot on his mind right now, but Kazu, with the ego that he had, would likely not take to well to the thought that he didn't have a digimon while Takato 'Chumley' Matsuki did. Sighing, he took another look at the card. He couldn't see how it would help him with his concerns about Guilmon.

"Just what I need, another useless card."

**###**

Yolei and Tally's chairs swung around as a red dot appeared on the screen. Hands flying across their control panels, they zeroed in to focus on it.

"Sir, I've detected another one," Tally said. Takeru sat at his station, flicking his lighter open and closed casually, not looking the least bit concerned.

"Well? What are you waiting for?"

"Yes sir. Right away."

The chairs swiveled again as she keyed in her commands.

"Pinpointing Tracer coordinates," Yolei said behind her. As Takeru watched a Tracer icon zoom in on the red dot, Takeru got out of his seat and smiled.

"They just never learn, do they?"

The screen changed, revealing the digital landscape; an endless landscape of glowing green circuits and wireframes surrounded by a blue sky. At the center was the faint outline of a digimon running along its length, but it was becoming clearer with every passing second. The Tracer drew closer and…

**###**

Takato soon found himself walking the streets with Henry and Terriermon. The goggle-wearing Tamer needed someone to pitch his concerns too and Henry was amiable enough. He had considered his teacher, but Guilmon was a rather unique case and he didn't want to bother her too much about everything that was on his mind. Henry was the closest available to being like him, since they both had the same digivice.

_Besides, it might be a good idea to get to know him better…_

"Sometimes I think Kazu _gives_ me these cards so he can use them against me later."

"You give him way too much credit," Henry replied, being familiar with Kazu's antics despite not being in the same class. Kazu Shioda was rather infamous, albeit not to any large degree but certainly enough for word to get around throughout the school.

"Yeah, I've got to work on that," Takato sighed. "Anyway, thanks for listening to me, Henry. I know it sounds crazy, but I am worried. I've never created a digimon before, so I don't know how that's going to affect him. What if he digivolves into something that's _not_ Guilmon?"

"He already wouldn't be Guilmon, so what's the point of worrying about it?" chirped Terriermon from Henry's shoulder. Henry gave him a sharp look.

"You know that's not what he meant."

"I know, but someone seriously needs to momentai. He's going to put himself into an early grave if he…whoa!"

"Hm? What's up?" Henry asked as Terriermon's ears abruptly shot up.

My ears for one thing!" Terriermon replied sarcastically.

"Your ears?" Henry asked. That made no sense, but Terriermon never reacted this way unless… He quickly scanned the area around them. There had to be danger, likely a Wild One. _But where? I don't…oh!_ "Oh no!"

"What's that?" Takato exclaimed, spotting it almost immediately as well.

It was difficult to see at first. Little more than a smudge against the background of blue sky, but as it drew nearer it took on the form of a cloud, almost perfectly circular in appearance…and moving toward them.

"I hope it's not what I think it is," Henry said, shuddering. He could feel… _something_ in that cloud. Instincts engrained in him from years of martial arts were telling him that the cloud was dangerous. His experiences as a Tamer were few compared to the red-haired girl, but they also told him that a Wild One was coming.

"Me too," Takato agreed, although his lack of experience was no less telling. "What do you think it is?"

Henry didn't answer, but the cloud loomed menacingly closer toward them, seemingly _intent_ on their location. "Whatever it is, it's coming right at us!" Takato exclaimed in realization, a tone of fear quavering in his voice.

"You know something," Henry began as he turned and began to run. "You just might be right. C'mon!"

"This is some week we're having!" Terriermon shouted, straining to stay on Henry's shoulders as Takato quickly fell in behind them. The cloud narrowly missed the pair as it suddenly sped up. It seemed to hesitate for a moment before lumbering in pursuit.

"Must run _faster!"_ Takato called as he chanced a look over his shoulder.

"I would if Terriermon wasn't choking me!" Henry shot back as they raced through the streets. The cloud had now risen higher up into the air, staying just out of sight of civilians, as if desiring to not cause a panic.

_This is impossible!_ Henry thought, noting the behavior. _It's a digital field!_

"This just keeps getting better and better…" Takato gasped as they rounded a corner, the cloud continuing to follow them. A thought occurred to the boy. "What is a digital field and why is it chasing us?"

"You picked a dumb time to ask questions," Terriermon said sarcastically, shooting him a glare.

"For once I agree with you," Henry gasped as they approached a bridge. Gasping, Takato chanced another glance at the cloud.

"It's…gaining on us!" he rasped. "We'll never outrun it!"

"Oh _man!"_ Henry cursed. "This thing is fast! We'll have to split up! You take the bridge!"

"Right!" Takato nodded, cottoning onto his plan. If one of them managed to get away, they could get help. Shooting ahead, Takato took the stairs two at a time, his speed giving him a tremendous boost. Once he reached the top he turned to find the cloud still chasing after Henry, seemingly hell bent on going after him.

"Get the lead out, this is serious!" Terrermon shouted in realization.

"Oh no!" Takato ran to the bridge railing. "Henry! It's after you! Keep running! I'll go get Guilmon and be back as soon as I can!"

Pulling away from the railing, Takato took off at a pace. Reaching into his pocket, he withdrew his digivice. A thought occurred to him. If he could trust his memory, Guilmon would sense when a digimon was coming, and that would mean he was already on his way.

Sure enough, as the compass function sprang to life, he saw that his partner was on the move.

_I never thought I'd be glad that he didn't listen to me…_

**###**

"Now might be a good time to hide," Terriermon suggested as his Tamer continued to lead the cloud on its chase. Henry was in good shape and not quite worn out yet, but even he couldn't keep up this pace forever.

"You're just full of ideas, aren't you?" he asked, nearing a construction site. It looked closed down for the day, causing a thought to occur to him. If he couldn't outrun it, they were going to have to fight.

_As good a place as any…_ he thought, taking a sharp turn.

"I suppose _momentai_ isn't really appropriate now, huh?"

_I need an entrance!_ Henry thought, racing around the fence. _C'mon… C'mon… There!_

"Quick! Down there!" Terriermon shouted at the exact same moment. Henry's feet left the ground and he leapt over yellow and black-colored guard bar.

"I thought I was the Tamer!"

"Oh! It was just a suggestion…"

The cloud, undeterred, followed him into the grounds. It was expanding now, beginning to encompass the area.

"How about suggesting a better place to hide!" Henry gasped, starting to regret coming here. All the construction equipment and material just hanging around… It did not look safe at all.

The cloud grew and grew until, finally, the entire building was covered in a thick, dense fog.

**###**

Takeru flicked his lighter open and closed.

"What's the status of the anomaly?" he asked. He wasn't happy. The entity had destroyed the Tracer sent against it, and every one that followed after.

"It's bio-emerging!" Yolei reported, not looking up from her control panel.

**###**

A beam of light shot up into the air from the construction site, and it was quickly followed by a massive shockwave that knocked Henry off his feet, scattering Terriermon to the ground in short order. Before either of them could recover, a low, animalistic growl thundered across the air and the ground shook as a dark, humanoid figure began to approach them. Rolling back onto his feet, Henry looked up to find the figure stopping before him.

The mist cleared, revealing a tall, humanoid figure with black fur surrounding legs that ended in cloven hooves. The digimon's head was ram-like, with great, curving horns arching from its head.

"Well," Mephistomon began, his tone a mixture of amusement and hidden threat, "this is most unfortunate for you, human."


	18. Episode 4: Refraction of Light: Part 1

Rika Nonaka stood outside her home, looking into the koi pond, gathering her thoughts.

_I still don't understand what that kid did to digivolve that weenie rabbit to his Champion form. I train and train and download enemy after enemy, but still nothing._ She tightened her fists. _All he did was freak out when the rabbitmon got in the way of Renamon's fight with that Gogglehead's dinosaur._

She narrowed her eyes thoughtfully, still not arriving at an answer. It almost sounded like something from the history books—about how the Digidestined and their partners learned to 'care' about one another in order to achieve the next level. _That's stupid. Just like that Gogglehead. How do 'feelings' make anything happen?_

Inside her home, she heard a burst of laughter, causing her to _tsk_ in response. Her mother and her friend, Sora Ishida—the so-called Digidestined of Love who fought in the war—were visiting with each other. She supposed Sora was okay, as was her partner, Biyomon. She knew the pair ever since she was a kid due to Sora's career in the fashion industry intersecting with her mother's career as a model. She never really had a problem with them and had, in the past, enjoyed being babysat by the Ishida family in the past. In fact, sometimes she almost wished…

Rika was broken out of her thoughts by the sound of her digivice's alarm call. Pulling it off her belt, her violet-eyes widened slightly before focusing. A digimon was coming…and it was going to be a _big_ one.

"Renamon?" she called, just as the vulpine digimon materialized from the shadows of her room.

"Ready," she nodded, folding her arms over her chest. Rika grinned. This could be just what they needed. Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she headed into the house and passed her mother and Sora, both of whom waved at her between sips of wine.

"Hey Rika," Sora greeted. "Why don't you sit down? It's been a while since we last chatted."

Rika grimaced slightly, feeling a surprising hesitation to disappoint her in spite of her desire to keep some measure of distance between them.

"Sorry," she replied stiffly. "I was just coming in to tell my mother that I'm going to head out for a little bit."

"Already?" Rumiko asked, wavering in her spot a little. Her cheeks were flushed, indicating that she was a touch-buzzed from the wine. "Well all right. Just make sure that you're back by supper, okay sweetie?"

"Yeah, sure," Rika said, turning around and heading out, trying to ignore Sora's lingering gaze. Her mother had already gone back to her wine, forgetting about her. That was fine, but she disliked feeling Sora's eyes on her back. It made her feel uncomfortable.

Managing to make her way to the gate of her home, she pulled the door open and stepped outside, pulling it closed behind her. Letting out a small breath she didn't know she had, she pulled out her digivice and called up the compass function to get her bearings. It indicated a line straight ahead in the direction of the city.

"Time to go to work," she said, taking off at a run. Within mere moments, she charged down an alley, just in time for Renamon to intercept her, and together they both vanished from view.

A pink bird settled down on the wall of the alley, craning her head to one side curiously, pondering the sight that she had seen. "Hmmm…" Biyomon said aloud before taking to the air back in the direction of the house.

**###**

Renamon deposited Rika in front of the construction site in record time. Her feet were already hitting the ground when she heard the sound of destruction emanating from within.

"Looks like the party's getting started without us," the fire-haired girl chuckled, pulling out her digivice and a few choice cards. They were general-purpose—strength and speed enhancements mainly with a defense card—the most reliable first-response cards she had until she had a better idea of what she was dealing with.

"How rude," Renamon added with a touch of sarcasm. Rika nodded, but before she could say anything else, she caught sight of movement off to her side. Turning, she saw a familiar goggles-wearing boy and his red-dinosaur partner running to the scene, a panicked expression on his face. Rika narrowed her eyes thoughtfully. She didn't have to look at Renamon to know she had also spotted him.

"Let's see what they do first," she said, following behind them while taking care to not be seen.

**###**

_"Bunny Blast!"_

There followed a contemptuous laugh as Terriermon launched a series of green energy blasts from his mouth. They pelted Mephistomon, detonating with explosive force, but Henry, like Terriermon and Mephistomon, knew that the attack wouldn't do anything besides buy them a few precious seconds.

_Mephistomon's an Ultimate level digimon!_ Henry exclaimed in his mind as he quickly took advantage of those seconds and dashed over to Terriermon, snagging him into his arms and quickly turning tail and running in the opposite direction, aiming to lose himself in as much machinery and construction as possible. Mephistomon, being bigger, would have a harder time chasing after him.

At least, that's what he thought until the Bulldozer crashed down directly in front of him, leaving him with barely any time to scuttle to a halt and fall flat on his back. Not wanting to lose the momentum, he just managed to roll to the side and get back onto his feet in short order and take a look at Mephistomon.

The demonic digimon had a wide grin plastered on his face as he stalked closer, the ground cracking beneath his cloven hooves.

"Tenacious for a human," he chuckled. "I can respect that. Sorry for missing by the way. I'm not used to my form. I was just born a few minutes ago."

"That's the lamest 'I was born yesterday' joke I've ever heard," Terriermon said sarcastically, though his voice wasn't really into it. He was as scared as Henry was right now. Feeling it, Henry tightened his grip on his partner and ducked behind the bulldozer, heading deeper into the construction site. Behind him, he heard Mephistomon's dark laughter.

_"You can run all you like human!"_ he shouted _. "But you will tire long before I do."_

Mephistomon strode past the fallen piece of machinery. He didn't have to pursue the human, though he had to admit he felt a certain degree of excitement at the thought of bloodying his hands with the child. That aside, his only concern was that he was a witness to his bio-emerging and had, for some reason, drawn him like a magnet while he was entering the real world. Was there darkness within this human? Darkness he could use?

_It matters not,_ he thought to himself. _He's too weak and I don't care to be 'tamed' like so many of the worthless digimon who come here. I already have all the power I need to complete my purpose in this world._

His grin widened across his face, looking like it would split it in half. Yes, he would simply destroy the human and his worthless partner, but just because he was going to didn't mean he wouldn't try to have some fun along the way. Tasting his terror would go a great way to satiate him while he set his father's plan into motion.

**###**

_This must be how all those digimon felt,_ Henry thought distractedly as he looked desperately for a place to hide, all the while not believing that one would be of any use. Behind him, Mephistomon sounded as close as ever, though he didn't dare look behind him to see how much truth there was to that. Looking would only worsen his concentration; make it harder to think of a plan to escape.

He looked anyway, but only when the sound of his oncoming steps abruptly silenced.

"Henry…?" Terriermon asked, hopping down from his partner's arms. "Where did he go?"

Henry heard his heart beating loudly in his chest, and he desperately wanted it to just jump out of his throat and get it over with since that seemed to be what it wanted to do so very badly. _At least then the only noise I'd have to deal with is Terriermon…_ he thought, straining his ears for even the slightest sound. _Did Mephistomon disappear?_

"Henry?"

_"Shhh!"_ He turned, scowling. He had almost heard something just then. _What was it?_ Something… A gentle…flapping? A dark shadow fell over them just as realization dawned on the half-Chinese Tamer. _Oh no! Mephistomon has wings! I forgot about that!_ "Run Terriermon!" he shouted, diving forward just in time to narrowly miss getting crushed beneath Mephistomon's hooves. Fire and brimstone curled up from the spot where the demon-digimon landed and he chortled, looking up at the duo as they scattered to gain some distance.

"Oops," Mephistomon said, rising. "I missed."

_He's just toying with us,_ Henry gaped. He was shaking all over now. His control was shattered.

_"Henryyy~!"_ he heard a voice call from behind them just as Terriermon jumped in front of his partner. Turning, Henry saw Takato and Guilmon arriving…for all the good they would do in this situation.

"Takato!" he shouted, struggling to his feet. "You've got to get out of here! This digimon's way too powerful for you! He's…"

"Oh- _ho!_ A _Hazard_ digimon!" Mephistomon drawled in an excited tone, rearing up to his full height as he took in Guilmon. "And here I thought all such data was locked away alongside Lucemon. This _should_ prove interesting."

"Locked away with Lucemon…?" Takato blinked, pulling up his goggles while next to him Guilmon looked on in amazement. There was that talk with the Hazard again. Did this digimon know something? "What do you…?"

"He's trying to kill us! What makes you even think now is a good time to play twenty que—whoa!" Terriermon was abruptly cut off as Mephistomon lifted and hurled a steel beam at him. Both digimon and human barely had enough time to get out of the way as it clanged on the spot where Terriermon stood and somersaulted over.

"Stop it!" Henry shouted, rolling back to his feet. "Leave them out of this! You were after me! If it's me you want…"

Mephisto either wasn't listening, or he didn't care. Raising a hand and he took aim at him. Energy swirled around his palm before lancing out like a gust of wind. Henry froze in place, finding himself unable to move.

"Henry! What are you doing?!" Takato shouted, tackling the boy out of the way. The energy blast slashed the length of the pavement, carving a trench in its surface and narrowly missing the two boys.

That was all it took for Guilmon.

_"Pyro Sphere!"_ the crimson dinosaur shouted, a crimson glow emanating in the back of his throat before he launched it at the Ultimate. The attack struck him full on in the chest, but Mephistomon didn't so much as flinch.

"Not even a tingle," he smirked. "I expected better from a Hazard. You disappoint me digimon… _whatever_ digimon you are. Interesting that I've never heard of one fitting your description…"

"That's because he was born a few days ago!" shouted Terriermon as he flung himself at Mephistomon, twisting his body and beginning to rotate. A giant tornado materialized around him and gale force winds slammed into the Ultimate. Snorting, Mephistomon merely walked into the twister and kicked out at the dog-bunny digimon, launching him out of his attack.

_"Terriermon!"_ Henry shouted as Guilmon leapt up to catch him. Dropping down, he placed Terriermon on the ground gently.

"You okay?" he asked, only to be greeted by Mephistomon's shadow as it fell over them. "Oh boy…"

"Goodbye, Hazard…" Mephistomon said, raising his hand as dark power swirled around his palm.

**###**

To say that the battle she was watching was nothing short of abysmal was an understatement. The two were stupid enough to fight head on without a plan, and what was worse the strongest of the pair wasn't even trying to help his partner fight. This battle was going to end very, very quickly unless something changed.

Sighing, Rika shook her head and raised a card to her digivice. _I can't believe that I'm about to do this,_ she thought. "Renamon?"

**###**

_"Diamond Storm!"_

Mephistomon blinked in surprise as dozens of glowing shards fell upon his raised hand, detonating with explosive force. His power, interrupted from its buildup, lashed out chaotically, clawing at the ground and his arm while ripping holes in the support beam behind Guilmon and Terriermon. The construction shook violently as the two digimon looked up and quickly decided that the falling steel bars warranted enough of an excuse to dash to the side.

Henry and Takato both seemed to be trapped in a well of uncertainty. Takato _knew_ what they had to do, but Henry was rooted to the spot and didn't seem willing to budge. He stood there, stock still, his grey eyes distant, as though he were seeing something other than the collapsing structure around them.

"Henry! We've got to _move!_ We can't just…"

The shadow of numerous steel girders enveloped them, causing Takato to raise a useless arm over himself protectively.

"C'mon boys," Renamon said, materializing behind them and gathering them together before vanishing once again, missing getting crushed by the falling beams by a hairs breath.

_Renamon?!_ Mephistomon's mind exclaimed in shock. He hadn't expected her to be here. If she was, then that also meant…

But his thoughts were drowned out as the remainder of the structure finished crashing down on top of him.

**###**

Both Takato and Henry gasped in surprise as Renamon unceremoniously dropped them to the ground.

"You two are such Goggleheads," they heard an all too familiar voice say to them. Turning, they both found their eyes falling on the familiar form of Rika as she stood a short ways off, arms crossed and face expressionless. "Were either of you planning on doing anything back there besides getting yourselves killed?"

Both boys blinked, bewildered by the question and exchanged glances. "Did…Did she just…?" began Takato, only to be interrupted as Terriermon came toppling down out of the wreckage.

"And here I thought you of all people didn't care what happened to us," he quipped, strolling over to his partner. Behind him, Guilmon appeared, looking a bit bruised and dirty, but otherwise all right. Rika _tsked_ at the sight of them, almost disappointed that they survived.

_Almost._

Takato and Henry both got to their feet, Henry breathing a sigh of relief as Terriermon climbed up onto his shoulder with his ears, giggling. Takato gave the girl a long, confused look, causing her to narrow her gaze at him.

"Something _wrong,_ Gogglehead?" she demanded heatedly, feeling uncomfortable by his gaze. Blushing at her admonishing, Takato quickly looked away.

"I guess I'm just…wondering…why you even bothered to save us," he replied as Guilmon approached and pressed his head against Takato's thigh. His expression relaxing, the boy heaved a sigh and cupped his partner's head, rubbing his ears.

"Our battle is with your digimon," Renamon replied, stepping out from behind them, causing Takato to squawk in surprise, having forgotten she was there. "Humans are a different matter."

"Killing digimon can still land you in jail," Henry grated. "They're our friends."

Rika _harrumphed_ as she placed a hand on her hip _._ "Hardly. Please don't start on that nonsense again. I heard enough of it the last two times we met. Your digimon are data—they're stepping stones for me and Renamon." Her violet eyes flashed brightly as they met Takato's red ones. "Remember that."

Takato's face fell. For an instant there, when she saved them, he had thought… _I guess I was stupid to think otherwise,_ he thought with a touch of despair.

"Well you're just a bundle of joy," Terriermon muttered, causing Henry to shoot him a sharp glare.

"Terriermon…"

"What happens now?" Takato asked. "Are we going to fight? Or…what?"

As if in answer, Henry glanced over at the construction site. Only a small portion of it had collapsed in on itself, and while the girders were heavy, he knew from reading online that most digimon at the Champion level and above were not only highly resistant to damage in general, they were almost impervious to anything from the real world. He almost wondered what was taking Mephistomon so long to get free and continue his attack.

As if on cue, all three of their digivices rang out in alarm and a portion of the fence surrounding the construction site blew apart, revealing Mephistomon in all his glory.

"So…three of you," he noted. "Good. The more the merrier."

A grin split across his face as he sighted Rika and Renamon. _Here's the perfect chance to see how much they've grown in power since my master took the Digimon Queen into the fold._

"Oh man… What're we going to do?" Takato asked as Rika raised her digivice and a modify card.

"I'm going to fight," Rika said, stepping forward. "You boys can run home if you want to."

"What?!" Takato's mouth dropped. "But that's Mephistomon! He's an Ultimate! Unless…Renamon can digivolve…?"

Takato had just enough time to note the slight clenching of her teeth. That told volumes.

"Henry!" He whirled about on his friend. "You've got to get Terriermon to digivolve! It's our only chance!"

"I…" Henry stammered. All at once a whirlwind of memories came crashing down on him. The parking garage… The _game…_ And… _him._ The sound of _him_ screaming. "…I can't…"

"Here he comes," Rika said, setting the card to her digivice's slot. She would lead off with a speed card so Renamon could close the distance to Mephistomon and then follow it up with a power boost card. If that didn't work—and she felt it was possible given Renamon's performance against Gargomon just yesterday—well…she still had one more trick up her sleeve.

She just hoped Renamon could handle it.

"I'll take you all on," Mephistomon laughed. _"Black Sabbath!"_ he shouted before falling into an incantation of a spell, and at once waves of energy blew across the field, striking the three Tamers. All three of them and their digimon stumbled, but, surprisingly, held firm. Mephistomon furrowed his brow in confusion as he continued to recite his spell. Normally anyone who heard the spell would quickly die, but for some reason…these three didn't?

He pushed more power into the spell, but in response a light flared around all six, blue, red, and green. Lightning crackled around the energy waves before abruptly exploding, causing Mephistomon and the Tamers to stagger backwards.

_They're not only resistant to my Black Sabbath attack, but they've caused a feedback?! What… What are they…?_ As the smoke cleared, he saw that the light surrounding them had died down, but was still just barely perceptible. A thought occurred to him just then. An odd thought. A thought born from little more than a rumor implanted in the vast stores of information his creator gifted him with.

_No… It couldn't be. They're…creating…a Trinity Burst Effect? Just by being together?_

He almost wanted to laugh at the absurdity of the notion. In all his vast knowledge, there had only been one recorded instance of such a thing, and even then little more than a rumor.

_Am I witnessing a second one here?_

_If that's true…then these three…_

He laughed. "Fate indeed has a sense of humor," he said, energy swirling in the palms of his hands. "Let the battle begin then. _Dark Cloud!"_


	19. Episode 4: Refraction of Light: Part 2

Kari Kamiya massaged the bridge of her nose as she entered the teacher's lounge, grateful that she had managed to finish all of her work early.

_It helped that everyone was better behaved today,_ she thought, noting the correlation. Instinctively, she wondered if she should be suspicious. It seemed impossible that her students should be so good compared to other days. Takato she could understand. Since becoming a Tamer he had started to shape up academically and become more attentive. Trouble-makers such as Kazu on the other hand…

_Well, if there_ is _something going on, I'll deal with it when it happens._ Shifting gears, she looked around and quickly located Gatomon sleeping atop one of the cabinets. Making her way over to the cat digimon, she tapped lightly below her and was greeted by the cracking open of a solitary blue eye.

"Time to go home, Gatomon," Kari smiled. Getting up, the cat stretched and flexed her claws.

"Oh good," she meowed. "I would have hated to sleep through that. You seem to be in a good mood."

"Good day," Kari nodded as Gatomon hopped down to the floor. "It helped that Mori kept to himself."

"Hmmm…" Gatomon grinned, looking at her claws thoughtfully. "That's good."

Kari raised an eyebrow at her. "Gatomon… You didn't do anything to Mori did you?"

"I might have mentioned that his desk looked like a good scratching post," Gatomon replied, still eyeing her claws.

"You are incorrigible," Kari laughed. "I appreciate the thought, but I can handle him."

Gatomon scowled but nodded reluctantly. "All right, but don't say I didn't…"

Gatomon's next words were cut off by the sound of Kari's digivice crying in alarm. Taking it out from her pants pocket, she activated it and found the screen blinking on and off with an eerie green light.

"What the…?" she began, furrowing her brow. "A digimon's coming through."

**###**

_"Diamond Storm!"_ Renamon shouted, sending a wave of glowing crystal shards flying at Mephistomon. The demonic Ultimate digimon merely laughed as the shards struck his body harmlessly, shattering into thousands of bits of data.

"You'll have to do better than that I'm afraid," he said, stalking toward the group.

_"Pyro Sphere!"_ shouted Guilmon, rearing his head back as a crimson glow began to burn in the back of his throat.

_"Bunny Blast!"_ Terriermon added, firing a stream of tiny green energy pellets at Mephistomon. Guilmon's attack followed shortly after and both struck him with explosive force. Mephistomon, however, simply walked through the smoke kicked up by their impacts without even flinching.

"I said _better,"_ he chortled. "Not _worse."_

"Ah…" Takato began, feeling more than a little bit worried about this development. "Anybody got an idea?"

"We fight, duh!" Rika stated as though it were the simplest thing in the world, slashing a card through her digivice's card-slot. _"Digi-modify! Speed activate!"_

With that, Renamon's form blurred as the information that made up her body accelerated. Kicking off the ground, she dove at Mephistomon, just in time for Rika to slash through a strength card. Her fist impacted Mephistomon's face, causing the air to crack with thunder. Mephistomon's fur fluttered from the powerful gusts kicked up by the punch, but once more Mephistomon didn't so much as budge. Instead, he casually backhanded the vulpine digimon, sending her crashing to the ground with a cry of pain. Rika gritted her teeth, biting back a sudden urge to call Renamon's name. Refocusing on the situation at hand, she fanned through the cards she held, trying to see if there was at least _one_ that could do damage to the Ultimate.

Unfortunately, she was coming up short.

_Really, I expected better from you,_ Mephistomon thought, looking at the red-haired girl in disappointment. _You had everything and yet you continue to rely solely on cards. Renamon should have digivolved long before now. Perhaps Apocalymon was wrong about you. Perhaps it's time to end your experiment…_

A squawk that sounded like a feeble attempt at a roar caught Mephistomon's attention and he jerked slightly as Guilmon plowed into his abdomen, trying to push him back. Grimacing, Mephistomon took hold of his opponent and began to slowly pry him off.

_Strong grip,_ he thought. _Could it be because of the Hazard?_

Finally pulling the Rookie's abnormally strong arms off he lifted him up and then tossed him to the side, where he crashed into a pile of still-unused electrical conduit, knocking them over with a clatter.

"We've got to get out of here!" Takato shouted, looking desperately at Henry and Rika. Between the two, Henry looked the most amiable, but Rika just glared at him.

"A Tamer doesn't run away from danger," she said venomously. "You want to run off? Go ahead!" Turning back toward Mephistomon, her eyes narrowed. "Your digimon won't have a use for a coward anyway."

Takato's face paled before flushing in anger. He looked as though she had just punched him in the gut.

"I am _not…!"_

"Incoming!" Henry shouted, catching both of their attentions just in time to see Mephistomon rearing his fists over them. Dashing to the side, they narrowly avoided getting crushed by the force of his blows. The ground cracked and shook, causing the Tamers to lose their footing and crash to the ground, Henry on one side with Takato and Rika on the other.

"Eenie meenie minie moe," Mephistomon said, standing up and pointing a claw at the three children. "Who shall be the first to go?"

"How about _you?!"_ Terriermon shouted, launching himself at Mephistomon and smashing his horned skull into his face. Mephistomon grunted in pain for the first time since arriving in the human world, the horn actually managing to harm him slightly as its damage was confined to a smaller point, making it harder for his data to spread out and blunt. Terriermon bounced off and then fired off another round of his _Bunny Blast_ attack, concentrating it on Mephistomon's knees. As with the other attempts with the attack, Mephistomon didn't so much as quake.

_The bigger they are,_ Terriermon swallowed nervously as the Ultimate advanced toward him, _the harder they fall…_

_"Rock Breaker!"_ Guilmon shouted, launching himself at Mephistomon with his claws aiming at his back. The crimson dinosaur slammed into him, this time managing to cause him to stagger from the blow. Wrapping his arms around his waist once more, Guilmon latched his powerful jaws around the side of his abdomen and bit down with all the force that he could muster.

Mephistomon snorted. "Is that all?" he asked before launching himself backward into the construction site, smashing into a concrete pillar and crushing Guilmon against it. Guilmon made a loud, choking sound as the impact reverberated throughout his entire body. Pain…such _pain…_

"Pathetic," Mephistomon said, pulling away from the pillar and allowing Guilmon's body to collapse to the ground like a puppet with its strings severed. "At least _try_ to keep me entertained."

Two shadows fell over him and he looked up to see Renamon and Terriermon flying toward him.

"Hey!" Terriermon shouted angrily. "Leave him alone!"

_Tsking_ in annoyance, Mephistomon batted Terriermon away with contemptuous ease while Renamon, expecting this, merely grabbed hold of his arm and used it to change positions without losing her momentum, smashing a foot into his face.

Not that it did any good however. The level difference was just far too great. Grabbing hold of the vulpine digimon's foot, he smiled cruelly.

_"Dark Cloud."_

Wisps of black curled up from his massive hands and began to crawl across Renamon's leg. The effect was immediate as Renamon screamed in pain, gold and white fur corroding and darkening along her leg. Mephistomon held his grasp for only a second before letting her drop to the ground. Rolling over, Renamon pushed herself up with her arms, fighting her way through the pain. She knew that there was no time to recover though.

_He's too strong… We're just toys to him… We're…_

The sight of one of his goat-like legs stepping over her stopped her thoughts. _He's…ignoring us?_ Forcing herself to her feet she got into an unsteady combat stance. Her blackened leg shook violently but she willed it to still. The pain remained, but she could ignore it for the time being. _Now's my chance…_ she thought, raising her arms.

"I wouldn't do that again, dear Renamon," Mephistomon stated, not turning to look at her. Renamon blinked in surprise. "I gave you the gift of life. Don't throw it away so casually for a bunch of nothings." Renamon saw his shoulders shake as he laughed. "Not like this fool here…"

Then she saw him.

**###**

Henry stood there, frozen, his mind desperately clawing to get him functioning again, but all he saw was Mephistomon's overwhelming power…and all he thought of was Gargomon running out of control.

_Takato's right! We've got to get out of here! But how?! This digimon isn't just going to let us go! He…_

Movement to his side caught his attention, and in the next moment his paralysis was broken as Rika shouted in surprise.

**###**

Takato didn't know how the pipe ended up in his hands, but it was there all the same. Through the red haze that clouded his vision he saw that he was charging at Mephistomon. Somehow, he didn't know why or how, he felt Guilmon's pain erupting through his body and as a result he found himself running at the Ultimate, weapon in hand and ready to fight. He didn't think. There was no room for thinking. Only room for acting.

Swinging the pipe up in a wide arc, he brought it down on his enemy, only for it to be caught by Mephistomon, who then wrenched it free from his grasp. Taken aback, Takato fell backward and landed on his rear

"Hazard Tamer," Mephistomon said, raising the pipe and aiming it directly at Takato. "This marks your end."

_"Thunder Blast!"_

Before Mephistomon could make his attack, a bolt of raw lightning crashed down and struck the pipe, lancing into his arm. Grimacing from the shock, Mephistomon looked up to see two oncoming digimon approaching from the sky, an Armor and Champion level respectively. More accurately…

"Stingmon and Raidramon!" Takato exclaimed, not believing their luck. Mephistomon _tsked_ at their approach, while off to the side Rika narrowed her eyes at them before bringing her attention back to the boy still lying on the ground. Her heartbeat was now calming down, having just received a rather nasty jolt when she saw him suddenly dart toward Mephistomon armed with nothing more than a pipe. She hadn't expected that.

_All over a stupid digimon?_ she thought, but she found that there wasn't much force behind it. She shook her head. _C'mon… Get back in the game! We've got two more digimon who are more powerful than these two bozos, but Mephistomon still has the edge over us._

She tightened her grip on her digivice and reached into her deck box, producing a card.

_I guess now's the time to use my secret weapon after all…_

**###**

Ken and Davis hopped off of Raidramon's back immediately upon touchdown, their partners getting into battle positions. Holding out his blue-trimmed digivice, Raidramon was enveloped by a light, and as he shrunk down to his Rookie form of Veemon, a blue orb emerged and shot into Davis' digivice.

"Oh man," Takato said, getting to his feet. "You guys came in just the nick of time! Mephistomon was about to kill us!"

"Ahhh… And I would have gotten away with it to," Mephistomon said, wagging a finger at Ken and Davis, "if not for those…well…I guess it's a little _late_ to be calling you _kids_ now." He sighed. "But _adults_ just doesn't have quite the same ring to it…"

"You don't belong in this world, Mephistomon," Ken said. "Your kind are supposed to abide by the peace treaty."

"Rules are made to be broken," Mephistomon declared. "And the war _never_ ends." His smile widened like an old wound splitting open. "Not where the Nightmare Soldiers are concerned."

Behind him, Renamon's blue-eyes widened in surprise at the mention of her comrades.

_Does he work for them?_ she wondered. _I've never seen him before…_

"So you're going to fight?" Stingmon asked. Mephistomon chortled and took a step forward.

"You already know the answer to that."

"Let's take him down, Veemon!" Davis shouted, raising his D-3 digivice to the sky. A glow emerged from it and a shell of data surrounded Veemon as he began to pronounce his digivolution.

_"Veemon! Digivolve tooo…"_

"I don't think so," Mephistomon grunted, slashing a hand to the side and sending a wave of energy slamming into Stingmon, causing him to stagger in place. Wasting no time, Mephistomon dashed forward and kicked at Veemon's data shell, shattering it before the blue-digimon had a chance to finish digivolving and sent him flying backwards.

"Veemon!" Davis cried out in horror for his friend as he rushed over to him and knelt down. He shot a dark look at Mephistomon, his fists shaking as Veemon groaned, his eyes fluttering and barely staying open for longer than a second at a time.

"Oh, did I interrupt?" Mephistomon snorted. "I'm more than well aware of _Imperialdramon_ and what's needed to form him. Sorry." He turned toward Stingmon. "I've had enough of Megas for one day."

"Stingmon!" shouted Ken as the insect Champion rose into the air, a purple stinger extending from his gauntlet.

_"Spiking Strike!"_

**###**

"Get back!" Davis said, pushing Takato behind him. He heard the loud crack of battle being joined followed by Ken shouting Stingmon's name. He didn't need to look to see how Ken's partner was doing. It sounded rather obvious.

_Ultimates almost always beat Champions in a fight,_ he grimaced, seeing Henry approaching while behind him a red-haired girl stood apart, aloof. She tickled a memory.

"Whoa there!" Davis said, raising a hand at Henry. "You kids have to get out of here! It's not safe!"

"But we can help!" Takato said. "We can modify our digimon… Stingmon can't handle that digimon by himself!"

"Modify…?" Davis blinked until he remembered the boy's report from the last time he saw him. "Oh…yeah. Look, T, I get that you want to help but…" With great effort he glanced over his shoulder to find Stingmon locked in a grapple with Mephistomon, just barely holding on. How long could he give them? "…but your digimon are way too small and inexperienced to do any real damage against this guy."

"But if Terriermon digivolved to Gargomon…" Takato insisted, only for Henry to shake his head.

"I won't let him!" he said, causing Takato to tilt his head to one side in confusion.

"Henry… Why not?"

Henry's fists shook at Takato's question. _I can't break my promise… What if I lose him?_

"It could be because he leveled a parking garage yesterday," Davis pointed out. "But either way, you kids have got to get out of here! We can handle this!"

With that, Davis gave the two Tamers one final shove and then turned around toward Ken.

"So…uh…Ken. How _are_ we going to handle this?"

"Not _now,_ Davis…"

"We can't just leave," Takato said to Henry. "Look!" He raised an arm and pointed at their partners. "Our digimon! Guilmon and Terriermon are getting back up! We can help!"

"There's nothing we can do though," Henry said, his eyes softening at Terriermon's ragged, beat-up appearance. _It's just like before… The first time he lost control…_ "There's nothing _I_ can do… Terriermon's too small and he still can't control his Champion form." His expression tightened angrily. "There's got to be another way!"

"We have cards," Takato said. Digging into his pockets he produced his deck. "But…uh…well…all I've got though is kind of lame. The only real good card I have is a high speed plug-in C, but I don't think that will help Terriermon much. Hey, maybe that girl…"

"Wait!" Henry exclaimed suddenly as a thought occurred to him. "Let me see your cards!"

"Uh…huh?" Handing them over, he raised a perplexed eyebrow as the half-Chinese Tamer quickly fanned through them.

_It's got to be here somewhere… It won't hurt him… At best it will stall him, but seconds are all we need._

Finally spying the card he was looking for, he took it out and returned Takato's deck. Seeing what Henry chose, the goggle-wearing boy's eyes shot up in surprise.

"That thing?! It's just a training card. What'll that do?"

"Just watch and learn!" Henry said. "Terriermon! Time for a little resistance!"

Raising his head, the long-eared digimon smirked at hearing his partner's voice. "It's about time…"

Raising his green-trimmed digivice, Henry quickly slashed the card through its slot. _"Digi-modify! Training Grips activate!"_

Raising his ears, a pair of metal bands with bands strapped to them appeared on them. Takato blinked in confusion.

"Okay, that's interesting. Now what?"

As if in response, Terriermon spun around and launched the Training Grips off his ears and at Mephistomon just as he broke out of Stingmon's grip. Transforming into light, they struck him and strapped themselves into place. Startled, Mephistomon found the muscles in his arms straining as they were suddenly pulled in front of him, heavily restricting his movements.

"What is…? _No!"_ He shouted, struggling to break free from the Training Grips as Stingmon got back to his feet, his purple energy blade snapping back into existence.

"What's the matter? Afraid of a little workout?" he asked sarcastically. His wings unfolding from his back, Stingmon took to the air and landed behind Mephistomon. Spinning, he stabbed the demonic Ultimate in the back, causing him to scream in pain and stagger forward, struggling to stay upright.

"Will someone please tell me what's going on?" Takato asked, still utterly lost.

"It's simple," came Rika's voice as she drew up next to them, arms folded over her chest. "Your _friend_ knows that the cards in the real world do more than just what's printed on the text. They can create physical objects too. They're just temporary, but they get the job done." She gave Henry an appraising look and then nodded respectfully. "Nice to see that _one_ of you isn't a complete Gogglehead."

"Thanks," Henry deadpanned before returning his attention to the battle. Stingmon now had the upper hand in the fight, stabbing and slashing away with his energy blade, all the while not giving Mephistomon a chance to rally and recover. With his arms bound, he couldn't use them to properly defend himself. As of now, the only thing keeping him in the fight was his incredible durability as an Ultimate level, but that couldn't last him forever.

"Got to admit," Davis grinned, looking at the three kids behind him, "those modify cards sure are something else. Just that one card changed everything!"

"Don't congratulate them yet Davis," Ken warned. "How's Veemon?"

"Anybody got the number of the Busmon that hit me…" the blue-scaled digimon groaned, still groggy.

"I'm going to guess that means not good," Davis said. "But maybe those kids _should_ be helping us. They've got those modify cards after all…"

_"Dark Cloud!"_

At those words, everyone's heads snapped up just in time to see a black miasma surrounding Mephistomon, focused on the Training Grips that bound him tightly together. Smoke rose from the metal and then shattered.

"Free…" the demon digimon smirked. "Now…I hope you enjoyed your fun, Stingmon of Kindness. Because I know _I_ certainly will…"

"Oh for goodness sake," Rika said, raising her blue-trimmed digivice and the card she held in her hand. "This fight is taking too long. It's time to end it. Renamon!"

The vulpine digimon was broken out of her thoughts by her partner's call and stood ready to receive the power of the modify card she had. She didn't know what it was, but she trusted in Rika's ability to choose the correct one for the situation.

_Yes,_ thought Mephistomon with glee as the girl took a stance. _Show me your power. Don't betray my creator's trust in you with the weakness you've displayed so far…_

"No!"

Mephistomon jerked in surprise. Instead of whatever power or attack he was expecting, instead the half-Chinese Tamer caught the girl off guard by grabbing hold of the arm holding the card she was about to use. _What's going on?_ he thought, a flicker of anger lighting up inside him. _Don't you_ dare _take this from me! She is my master's creation! The future Queen of Darkness!_ The ground cracked as he stepped forward to intervene. _Apocalymon's will shall not be…_

_"Celestial Arrow!"_

Mephistomon barely had time to register the pronouncement of the attack before twisting to the side, an arrow of crackling white light slashing against his hip right where he had been standing a fraction of a second ago. Hissing in pain, he looked up to see an Angewomon flying toward him, arming another arrow on her arm-bow. He _tsked_ again and then looked at the other combatants. Stingmon regarded him even more warily now that he was no longer bound by the Training Grips, but was no less reluctant to fight despite the power difference between them.

"It seems that this battle is becoming a little too crowded," Mephistomon said, summoning his black miasma again. "This isn't over. Until the next time…I bid you a _fond_ farewell."

_"Celestial Arrow!"_ Angewomon shouted again, launching her attack again. However it came too little too late. The air surrounding Mephistomon warped and swallowed him, causing him to vanish completely. The arrow struck empty ground and detonated harmlessly, kicking up a cloud of dust and smoke that fell over the group.

"Well that was certainly all in a day's work," Davis quipped, coughing loudly as a gust of wind from Angewomon's landing began to disperse the dust cloud.

"Something like that," Ken nodded in agreement, though concerned about what this now meant for relations between the real and digital worlds. Setting that aside for the moment, he looked up at the tall angel digimon. "Great to see you Angewomon. Is Kari…?"

"Hey!" exclaimed Takato from behind them. Turning, he saw the two boys looking around them in confusion, the reason for which immediately became obvious even without anyone saying anything.

The red-haired girl and her Renamon had disappeared once again.

**###**

Mephistomon phased into view atop a building overlooking the city, arms folded over his chest. Across from him, he saw Renamon bounding from building to building, the Digimon Queen held in her arms. Her injury no longer seemed to be affecting her. He tapped his claws on his forearms thoughtfully.

_I'm disappointed in you Renamon. Perhaps IceDevimon was right about you after all…_

Still… He wasn't quite ready to throw out everything that his master planned.

_I don't have much time for your games, Renamon. I think it's time I arranged a test for you…_

With that, the air folded around him once more and he vanished completely from view.


	20. Interlude 3: Reflections

Breathing heavily in exhaustion, a Gazimon ran down an alleyway, his eyes wide with terror. "Oh no… Oh please no… for the love of Kami…" His run slowed to a halt as he saw that the alleyway led to a dead end, sealing off his escape. "…No…" he whispered, falling to his knees. Tears welled up in his eyes and he shook violently, knowing what was coming for him. He could feel it creeping up on him already, a silent chill that grinned as it cornered its prey. He heard something, like glass sliding and cracking. He didn't have to turn to know what it was.

"Please…" he pleaded, looking over his shoulder. "Please just let me go…"

A cold puff of air flowed into the alley as ice crept across the ground and walls. A dark, tall form with tattered wings and long horns protruding from its skull materialized out of thin air. Murderous, blood-red eyes stared at him, tauntingly. IceDevimon didn't say a thing, but the ice formed faster than ever, all but running toward Gazimon. Forcing himself to his feet, he tried to fight, sending blasts of electricity arching out from his mouth. In the end it amounted to nothing. The ice crept onto his body, forming ever higher, becoming tougher with each layer despite Gazimon's attempts to break it off. It took only moments before Gazimon's horrified screams were cut off behind a thick wall of ice, entombing him within its cold embrace.

"So beautiful," IceDevimon said, approaching the now frozen digimon, caressing his face with a long, blood-red claw. "Just like her…"

"You really did want to be her partner, didn't you?"

"Who…?" IceDevimon snarled, quickly whirling about. At the other end of the tunnel stood a tall, lanky man with light-colored hair and sunglasses. _A…human?_ No… That was wrong. Whoever this was, it only _looked_ human. IceDevimon could sense a vast power behind it, dwarfing his own. Not like Apocalymon's, yet…strangely similar.

The _human's_ eyes shone red for a moment as he stepped forward into the alley, ice melting and dissolving into shards of data as he did so. "You and I have never met, so don't be surprised that you don't recognize me. However, my…benefactor is the same as yours. Apocalymon."

"Apocalymon…" IceDevimon blanched and took a step back as the puzzle fell into place. "You… You are his scion. His spore."

"Created in the event that he was destroyed…and sadly that day finally came courtesy of the Digidestined of Courage and Friendship meeting each other. I barely managed to escape myself, but now here I am." Stuffing his hands into his pockets, he rocked back on his heels. "The real-world phase is being stepped up I'm afraid. I'm heading over to the V-Pet industries at my earliest convenience to introduce myself as Ryuuji Tamashiro, its absentee president. Your orders are to be on standby for a spell. I have some tests I'd like to run on the Digimon Queen to see if she and Renamon are truly compatible."

IceDevimon narrowed his eyes, guessing where he was going with this. "And if they are not?"

Removing his hands, he shrugged his shoulders and laughed lightly. "You'll free to do as you wish with them. Anyway, that's all I wanted to relay. Sorry for interrupting you. Ta-ta."

With that, the man named _Ryuuji_ turned and stepped out of the alley, whistling calmly to himself and leaving IceDevimon alone with his frozen prey and his thoughts.

_At last…_ IceDevimon thought, curling his claws into his palms. _At long last… Just a little bit longer…_

**###**

Takeru entered the construction site, eyebrows furrowed while he flicked the lighter open and closed in his hand. Down near the entrance amidst his agents stood three people he knew all too well, answering their questions. Kari, Ken and Davis. Their respective digimon stood close by, looking relaxed. Or at least they were until Gatomon spied him.

"Kari…" Gatomon spoke up, pointing in Takeru's direction. The woman turned in the direction she pointed in and at once her brown-eyes widened in surprise.

"Where are the _other_ witnesses?" Takeru demanded before she or any of the others could speak. "I was told there were two children here."

"Three," Ken corrected, brushing off his shirt fastidiously. "One of them is the girl I told you about, and she left as soon as we had a distraction. The others I let go after recording their statements." Digging into his pocket, he pulled out a recorder and handed it to an agent. "You can go over it if you want."

Takeru narrowed his eyes behind his sunglasses. "This is not a game, Ichijouji. I've warned you that I can revoke your license if you interfere in federal investigations…"

"We're _not_ interfering!" Davis exclaimed, stepping forward to defend his friend. "You can even call those kids if you want! We got that info too, though I doubt that you need it!"

"Davis!" Kari exclaimed, only for Ken to raise his hands at both of them and shake his head. Lowering his hands, he resumed speaking to Takeru.

"Takashi," he began. "I apologize if I did anything that upset you. My first thought was for the two children who witnessed the scene, one of whom was the son of Janyu Wong."

"Mr. Wong…" Takashi said, narrowing his eyes. Ken nodded, guessing that he understood his 'reasons' for letting the children go. As well-connected his organization was, Ken did not have the resources to fight off an irate Monster Maker should he feel that his son was being unfairly targeted.

Of course, there was always the possibility that Takeru wouldn't buy the excuse if he felt that it was inconveniencing his investigation. He could afford to flex his muscles even with someone like a Monster Maker.

"It's as Davis said as well." He shot a look at Davis before continuing. "The other child's information is also recorded, but you won't find his story to be much different."

Takeru clicked his lighter closed. "All the same, I will be placing them under observation. From the initial reports one of them recently became partnered to a digimon and had encountered trouble before." He looked at Kari now. "He's your student, isn't he, Ms. Kamiya?"

Kari visibly stiffened, though whether from his gaze or the formal way he addressed her neither Ken or Davis could be sure. "He is," she admitted reluctantly. "I would like to keep that a secret from his classmates if possible. Henry had to be moved from his class due to difficulties when he became a Tamer."

"I assure you I will be investigating this with as much care as possible," Takeru promised.

"So…what? Does that mean whenever it's convenient for you to not blow the lid off things?" Davis asked, folding his arms over his chest. This earned him a sharp glare from Ken and Kari while Takeru regarded him dispassionately.

"I care for the safety of _all_ the citizens under my watch, Mr. Motomiya." He turned to his agents. "Is that all?"

"We're…ah…all set, Mr. Takeru," said one of them, adjusting his sunglasses. "They can go whenever you'd like them to."

"Then that is all," Takeru said with a nod, heading in the direction of the construction site.

"Where are you going now?" Davis asked, scowling at him.

"To oversee the scene," Takeru replied simply. Davis was about to say more but a quick raising of the hand from Ken cut him off.

"Don't antagonize him," he warned. "We've already got enough attention on us already."

"Fine," Davis acceded, turning to head off. "Let's go."

The two men paused as they noticed Kari hadn't yet moved to leave, and they looked at her with raised eyebrows. "Kari?"

"You go on ahead," she said, not looking at them. "I still have some unfinished business here."

Ken and Davis exchanged glances. Both of them had caught the look in Kari's eyes…the movement of her Adam's apple as she swallowed nervously. Davis sighed, realizing what was up.

"Let's go, Ken," he said, walking past him with a depressed expression. "I know a good lunch stand nearby."

"Uh…sure."

Kari took a deep breath to steady herself as they left. Down below, Gatomon tilted her head to one side in confusion.

"You seriously want to talk to him?"

"Not _want to,"_ Kari said. "Going to."

"Kari…"

"I know what you're going to say, Gatomon. But I need to talk to him."

"He's changed Kari. You know he has. He's not the same person you knew and…"

"This is not about _him,_ Gatomon," Kari interrupted. "This is about Takato."

Before her cat digimon could say anything else, Kari quickly headed after Takeru, leaving Gatomon behind to watch her retreating back for a second, her expression softening slightly.

"That's what you tell yourself," she said under her breath. Shaking her head, she followed after her partner.

**###**

"It's been a long time…TK," Kari said, approaching Takeru. The man was looking at a readout on a digital notepad, not bothering to look up at her.

"Yes it has," Takeru said simply, tapping on the pad. Kari pressed her lips together uncertainly, not sure what to make of his rather brusque response. From her point of view it almost seemed like he was trying _not_ to acknowledge her presence.

_How can someone do that?_ she wondered, remembering the first time he began to act like this…so cold and emotionless. _How can he live with just shutting himself off like this and pretend he doesn't feel anything?_ She wanted to believe that he was doing it to keep from being hurt by what happened in the past, but a part of her felt that it was his way of punishing himself for his failure to protect her when the Undersea Master finally rose to claim her and wage war upon the human world.

"Is there something I can help you with?" Takeru asked after a moment of silence had passed. _Now_ he finally looked up from his notepad. Kari resisted the urge to swallow again.

_Get a hold of yourself, Kari…_ she thought. "My student… I want to know that you won't take his partner away from him. I want you to _promise_ me that you won't." Her face softened. "Please… If our friendship meant anything to you…don't do it."

"I don't destroy things unnecessarily," Takeru said, glancing back down at his pad. "As long as the boy's partner behaves and doesn't pose a threat, I have no reason to do anything about it."

"So is that a promise?" asked Gatomon, coming up from behind Kari.

"It's my job," Takeru said, glancing at her for only a second. "If that will be all, I have work to do."

Gritting her teeth, Kari nodded and gave the man a polite bow before turning away. She only went a few steps before looking back at him, a sorrowful expression on her face. "I've missed you, TK," she said, only to go unanswered as the man continued to lose himself in his investigation. Sighing, Kari left the construction site.

"Just about Takato?" Gatomon asked, following her.

"Please don't, Gatomon," Kari replied, closing her eyes in frustration. A well of old emotions had just unburied themselves and threatened to overwhelm her in one mad rush. If she didn't keep them under control she felt that she would lose it then and there. "Just…don't."

"Sorry," Gatomon offered.

The rest of the journey was made in silence.

**###**

"Hey," Terriermon chirped from his position atop Henry's head. "Whatcha got there, Takato?"

"Huh?" The boy blinked, broken out of his thoughts.

"It's that card the girl had," Henry replied for Takato. "She must have dropped it in the confusion from when Angewomon attacked."

"What card is it?" Terriermon asked, hopping over to Takato's head and leaning forward.

"Hey!" Takato protested, pushing back against the rabbit-digimon until he was a bit more properly settled. "Do you _have_ to do that?"

"Sure!" Terriermon giggled. "It's comfy and I don't have to move as much!" He looked at Guilmon who was watching him with wide, golden eyes. "Too bad you're so big. Otherwise you'd be able to hitch a ride whenever you needed one."

"Ohhh… Takatomon. How come you drew me so big?" Guilmon pouted. "Now I can't ride you like Terriermon."

"I was thinking of making you better than Agumon," Takato conceded, giving his partner a quirky smile, grateful that he seemed to have taken the beating in the fight fairly well. "And you are! You're fine just the way you are!" He craned his head slightly so as to get a better view of Terriermon. "It's not like we have to hide or anything."

"Says the guy who has to keep Guilmon a secret from his parents."

"Hey!"

"Well it's true!"

"Terriermon…" Henry warned, causing the rabbit-dog digimon to sigh heavily.

"Fine… Sorry Takatomon." Inching forward he furrowed his brow at the card. "So what card did ol' red and meanie have there? It looked like Henry was going to have a heart attack when he saw it and…whoa!" Terriermon blinked in surprise. _"BlackWarGreymon?!_ She was going to use _that_ card to digi-modify Renamon? What is she, crazy? Forget I asked that…"

"Using cards like this to power up a digimon is bad?" Takato asked.

"The lower your digimon's level, the harder it is to control power," Henry replied. "And cards at the Mega level have a _lot_ of power. Some things we can use…like equipment items like the Brave Shield or Thor's Hammer. Even some attacks, but it really depends on how strong the digimon is. Terriermon's too small to use cards at the Champion level. Renamon and even Guilmon can handle bigger digimon, but…" Henry shook his head. "I don't think you can use anything past Champion without running into problems. And a card like BlackWarGreymon is easily going to be the hardest to pull off. With that much destructive force, it'd be like a time bomb waiting to happen."

Takato nodded reluctantly. He knew that he lacked a lot of experience—and this highlighted just how little he knew—so he felt that he should follow Henry's lead in this case. Plus, having read the history books, he had an idea just how much firepower BlackWarGreymon had once fully unleashed. The Digidestined clashed with him repeatedly and regularly lost. Even a battle involving Imperialdramon in his Fighter Mode—easily their most powerful digimon— and the Vaccine version of WarGreymon only ended in a stalemate. BlackWarGreymon was powerfull.

Almost _too_ powerful.

"Why do you think she picked this card?" Takato asked. "I mean, she's good at this. Shouldn't she already know the risk of using a card like this?"

"She's good, but crazy, remember?" Terriermon joked, only to receive a glare from both Henry and Takato.

"She probably thinks about how useful its raw power is. Probably like something to use in an emergency. Renamon _is_ at the Rookie level and you saw what happened today. All three of our partners couldn't even scratch Mephistomon even when modify cards were used."

"Yeah…" Takato mused, looking back at the card. _Power…_ _That really could have come in handy back there…and all my fights come to think of it. Guilmon's just too young and Terriermon…_

"Henry? Why didn't you digivolve Terriermon in that fight? Is it because of what happened in the parking garage?"

"And Henry says _I_ don't have any tact," Terriermon said, bounding over to Henry's shoulder. "Sheesh."

Henry drew to a halt, causing Takato to do the same after a couple steps. Turning, the boy rested his red-eyes on Henry, who stood there for a few moments before sighing.

"This is my stop," he said, beginning to cross the street. "I'll see you tomorrow, Takato."

"Ah…" Takto reached out, but quickly retracted his arm. "Yeah…sure." The goggle-wearing Tamer sighed. He thought back to the fight, and the way Henry acted when he asked him the same question then. "Man… Henry… What happened to you two?"

He was broken out of his thoughts by Guilmon nuzzling his leg, sensing his distress.

"Takatomon? I'm tired. Can we go home and play now?"

"I…! Guilmon, I'm pretty sure we go home to _rest_ when we're tired."

"Playing makes it easier," Guilmon chirped with a laugh. Smiling, Takato patted his partner's head.

"The only thing you're more obsessed about is food," Takato laughed. Promptly, Guilmon's stomach growled, echoing Takato's responding sentiment.

"Uh…guess we'd better see to that, huh?"

"Yay!" Guilmon crowed, pressing against Takato all the more tightly.


	21. Episode 5: Dream a Little Dream

Rika finished putting her hair up in its traditional ponytail, her eyes expressionless. She didn't say a word to the vulpine digimon who stood in the corner of her room, arms folded over her chest. Instead, she merely picked up her school bag and took one last moment to brush off her Kagurazaka Girls' _Academy_ uniform's skirt before exiting her room, Renamon vanishing into thin air as she did so.

Stepping out into hall, she made her way into the living room. "I'm heading out now, grandma," she began, only to stop and raise her eyebrows upon seeing Sora and Biyomon sitting beside her at the table, the three of them drinking tea. Her first instinct was to ask what Sora was doing here, but it took only a second to realize that the younger woman looked a little bit on the tired side, as if she hadn't gotten much sleep. Indeed, she looked to be greatly worried about something. "Um…you don't look so good," she resumed after a second, blushing lightly at her bluntness. She normally didn't feel self-conscious about being so, but she had a certain respect for her grandmother and Sora—both of whom practically raised her in the absence of her father and mother from the household. Despite not being related by blood, Sora felt like an aunt to her, or rather how she imagined one to be.

"I'm fine," Sora said in a wan voice, forcing a smile on her face. Rika made a face, not believing her.

"You don't look like it." She glanced at her grandmother, Seiko Hata, who's thoughtful, sympathetic gaze said a great deal of many things that couldn't be captured in words. Something had happened.

Sora caressed the side of her tea-cup and looked down at it. Seiko looked back and forth between the two before placing a hand on Sora's. "It's all right dear," she said. "She'll find out eventually."

_I'll find out what eventually?_

"Biyomon?" Rika asked, turning her attention to the pink bird. In spite of herself, she had always liked the bird-digimon. She remembered the soft, fluffy feel of her feathers on her skin from when she was much younger and about her size. She didn't expect anything, but perhaps…

"Sora's upset because JAXA had just called her about Matt. They say that the spacecraft has gone missing."

Rika blinked, not certain as to what they were talking about at first, but a faint tickle of memory came to her. She had heard something some months back when Sora and Matt last visited that the former musician-turned-astronaut was heading up into space for some mission. She didn't pay much attention to it then as space didn't particularly interest her.

"Missing…?" Rika asked, approaching the table and setting down her bag, taking a seat next to Sora. "How can they be missing?"

"They were on a mission to explore the digital world," Sora admitted. "Map its boundaries in the real world. They'll be announcing it on the news later today. They say… They say that they were pulled into the digital world and…" Sora paused, her brow furrowing slightly before she looked at Rika more fully. "…and there may be a possibility that a digimon is looking to attack us as well."

Rika's eyes widened ever so slightly at that while across from her, Seiko looked at Sora, plainly not having expected that.

"Rika…" Seiko began before either of them could say anything more. "You should go to school now. We'll…talk about this later."

Rika was about to protest, but a quick look from Seiko shut her down. _Adult conversation time,_ she thought, translating the expression. Fuming a little, but understanding that Sora may have said more than she was supposed to, Rika grabbed her bag and bid the adults a quick goodbye. She entered the yard and quickly made her way to the gate. Pushing it open, she stepped out into the street and closed the gate behind her with a gentle click. She could sense Renamon nearby, the vulpine digimon keeping a close eye on her.

_A digimon is looking to attack us…_ she thought, remembering the battle from yesterday with Mephistomon while pondering Sora's words. She remained rooted where she was for a moment before setting off, feeling very conflicted about the news.

**###**

"Why did you say that to Rika?" Seiko asked, once she was sure that Rika had left the house. It wasn't that she was afraid her granddaughter couldn't handle the news or would go off and tell everyone what she learned without care for who heard it or how they would use the information—she believed the girl had a good head on her shoulders—but it felt oddly… _manipulative_ of Sora. As though she were trying purposefully to get a reaction out of her.

Sora was quiet for a moment before speaking. "I'm sorry Seiko. I really am, but…that's the other reason I'm here. I think…I think she may have been chosen by the digital world to fight this new digimon?"

Seiko's lips parted slightly, uncertain as to how to respond to that. "You…don't mean…"

"I saw something yesterday when we were here," Biyomon supplied. "When Rika left, I thought I saw a digimon following her, and so I followed. Then, Rika went down an alley and the digimon took her and they disappeared together." The bird took a sip from her drink before continuing. "I thought that the device on her belt looked a bit like Sora's digivice…"

"I thought it was just some kind of toy," Sora admitted, taking out her own digivice. "But the digital world likes to upgrade digivices every now and then. I guess I didn't think much about it since we've been at peace for so long."

Seiko glanced down into her cup, her expression becoming tight with worry. She supposed that she shouldn't be surprised. Over the past few months, she had thought she had seen things; _heard_ things, but at her age she didn't necessarily trust her senses as readily as when she was younger. Now that it looked like she wasn't just imagining things…

_Oh Rika…_ she thought, tightening her hands slightly on her tea cup. _Stay safe._

**###**

Kari was not feeling very well by the time she arrived at work and for once she had no one to blame but herself.

_You never could handle your liquor,_ she berated herself, massaging her forehead. Granted, she didn't drink herself into a stupor or anything, but having more than three glasses of sake was a bit much for her, mainly in that she had never been a heavy drinker to begin with. She had just wanted to relax after yesterday's ordeal and forget about it all. Seeing TK for the first time, and Davis giving her moon-eyes… _I thought he moved on years ago,_ she thought a bit bitterly. _But he clearly hasn't given up._

That was an unfair thought and she knew it. They kept in touch often enough to know that he _was_ seeing someone, but still, the way he would look at her sometimes reminded her too much of when they were kids.

_And that is my fault too,_ she sighed. _I took too long in telling him I wasn't interested and half the time before then I acted the way I did just to get him to cooperate. Ugh… Was I_ really _like that back then? I…_

"You're doing it again." This from Gatomon, already having an inkling as to what was on her mind.

"Please, Gatomon…" she pleaded. "Not now. My head hurts."

"I warned you."

"Yes you did," Kari admitted. "I'm sorry for not listening. Now could you let me suffer quietly already until the aspirin kicks in?"

"Sorry," Gatomon replied, looking at her partner in concern. "I guess seeing TK yesterday really shook you up a lot, huh?"

"I don't know why Matt ever drinks that stuff," Kari groaned, trying to change the subject. "It doesn't taste very good."'

"That sure didn't stop you from drinking," Gatomon snorted.

"Gatomon…" Kari began again, only to stop as she saw that there seemed to be some kind of commotion at the school. Forgetting about her mild hangover for the moment, she picked up her pace and joined the crowd that was rapidly gathering around the soccer field. She saw Takato and his friends were already there, gossiping and trying to figure out just what it was they saw. She drew up behind them to get a better look.

"Is that supposed to be a drawing of something?" someone asked. It _was_ certainly something, though from Kari's vantage point a _drawing_ was the last thing on her mind. Chalk-lines lay across the field, but not in any way that remotely made sense in relation to the game meant to be played on it.

Squiggly. Squiggly was the _only_ way to describe what she was seeing. More accurately a _masterpiece_ in squiggly lines. It reminded her of all her old coloring books she drew in as a child. Staying in the lines was something she could barely do at the time. No semblance of order. Only disorder ruled whatever game _this_ was meant to be.

At the head of the crowd stood the principal, fuming at the sight. Kari could see the red creeping across his skin. He turned around toward the gathering crowd, looking as if he were ready to eat nails and spit out staples.

_Look at that vein on his forehead,_ Kari thought sardonically.

"Too class!" the principal spat, his breathing labored and tense. "Everyone get to class! There is _nothing_ for you to see here! Get going before I start taking names down for _detention!"_

That did it. Needing no further prompting, students began to pull away. Instinctively, protectively, Kari reached out for Takato and placed a hand on his shoulder, surprising him.

"Ah! Ms. Kamiya! I…"

"Cmon kids," she interrupted with a tone of authority, not taking her eyes off the field. Her headache for some reason was now absent. "Let's go. You too Kazu and Kenta."

The latter of the aforementioned pair cast one final look over his shoulder before adjusting his book bag. "And you guys laughed at me when I said chalk was dangerous," he said with vindication at his two friends. "I don't see either of you guys laughing now."

Kari sighed. The day was already off to an interesting start.

**###**

Within short order, much to her surprise, Kari had her class corralled and settled. Finishing roll call, she looked at them.

"Okay everybody, give me your attention," she said, closing the attendance book. "For a change," she added under her breath before zeroing in on Kazu. "You too, Kazu."

The boy groaned, but she continued on without pause.

"I assume none of you vandalized the soccer field, though I wouldn't put it past some of you, but if you know anything about it, let me know, okay?" With that out of the way, there didn't seem to be much more to do than to get on with class. "Now, pick up your pencils, it's time for a test!"

Mouths dropped open at once and from them emerged a loud moan of indignation, signaling their displeasure at the surprise, the loudest of which came from Kazu, who was now flailing notebooks around and declaring about how unfair it was to have the exam just dropped on them out of the blue.

"If life were fair, I'd be in Maui," Kari said, approaching a student and handing him the first stack of exams for his row. "Maybe this will teach you to pay attention in class."

Kazu continued his weeping, unassuaged by her rebuke. Instead he continued to flail around a second longer before collapsing in his seat.

"I don't want to learn that…" he complained as Takato took the stack of papers, his doom not being halted in the least by his pleadings for mercy.

**###**

Lunchtime. One of the rare moments during the school day that Takato could get a moment to relax. On one hand, he had his food while on the other he was scribbling out ideas for Guilmon's Champion level form. Power… In retrospect he had no idea whether or not power was a 'good thing' for Guilmon. It seemed like a good idea at the time, when he was just designing a digimon that wasn't likely to suddenly spring to life from a pad of paper, but as he quickly learned Guilmon's growth and overall childish naivety was hampered by the power he had.

_Then again, most digimon are born at the Fresh level, and Guilmon was born as a Rookie…_ Takato added another touch to the design. Arm-blades that snapped out when activated. A bit better. He was lighter and smaller than Greymon, a shift in direction from Guilmon when compared to Agumon, though he packed roughly the same punch. The size was still reminiscent of most Champion sizes—fairly tall and about ten feet or so, give or take an inch—but something that would be more easy for Guilmon to handle once he was ready.

_Come to think of it,_ he thought, tapping his pencil on his chin thoughtfully, _aren't digimon levels supposed to be similar to humans growing up? Like you start out as a kid and get bigger and stronger as you get older?_

He realized that in designing Guilmon, he hadn't thought about that. He had started from an end-result on just being 'better' without thinking further ahead with what a real, live digimon would be.

_I really messed that one up,_ he thought, taking a bite out of his lunch. As he did so he tuned his ears in on a conversation going on at his left between three boys and a girl about the morning's event.

"I'm telling you man, there's something really weird going on here," spoke up a boy that Takato knew by the name of Tadashi Nakabayashi. He was a light-haired boy, a bit on the heavy side but had a pleasant personality and occasionally played the digimon card game. "Those drawings on the soccer field are just like crop circles. And those are made by aliens."

"Aliens?" scoffed another boy, a well-dressed boy by the name of Yuji Terayama. "You're way off base. Aliens don't exist, it was probably just another digimon pulling a prank."

"My uncle says aliens exist," Tadashi insisted. "He says digimon are too complex for the Internet to create them."

"Right." Yuji rolled his eyes. "And I bet your uncle says that the digimon that the principal saw? That was just a _ghost dinosaur_ instead, right?"

"No," Tadashi sighed in exasperation. "That was definitely a digimon. I was just saying that the Internet couldn't have created digimon and that's why I think aliens exist."

Takato, only listening in out of boredom, picked up his milk and took a drink.

"Actually I think I agree with Tadashi," spoke up another boy, Jeremy, a dark-skinned youth with a red shirt, "That Henry kid is partnered with a digimon and he ate out all the cafeteria food, remember?"

At that Takato found himself spitting out the milk as he choked on it, gasping for air. The three boys plus Ayaka all turned to look at him with raised eyebrows before returning to their conversation.

"Tadashi's right," Ayaka added. "Only something _alien_ could eat that stuff and survive."

Yuji sighed and threw his hands up in surrender. "Fine, fine… I give up. It's not like there's anything else that can eat the meatloaf and live to tell the tale after all. Seriously, that stuff is like a _brick!_ "

**###**

The remainder of the lunch period proceeded to its logical conclusion without interruption, and within short order Takato had cleared away his trays and everyone was assisting in cleaning up the room. Grabbing a mop, Takato immediately began to swab the floor. As he did so, another joined his, bumping up against it and blocking his path.

"Sorry," came Jeri's apology as he looked up. Takato blushed and offered her a small, nervous smile. He hadn't talked to Jeri in a while, but it was always good to see her.

"H-Hey," he said, offering a greeting. "There was…ah…quite a lot of weird stuff happening today, huh?"

"Yeah," the brown-haired girl said a bit evasively, pulling her mop away and resuming work. Takato soon joined her, finding the work oddly soothing on his nerves. "Weird…"

"Some of our classmates were talking about it earlier. Tadashi was talking about aliens, but Yuji didn't believe him until Ayaka brought up the cafeteria food. And after all that, they started to say it was really _demons_ conjured up by last week's spud balls." Letting out a laugh at the absurdity of it all, amused by how their imaginations could just run in all kinds of directions. He recognized a bit of irony there as well. Before he became a Tamer, he would have thought much the same and been in agreement with Yuji.

Jeri's silent demeanor though quickly broke him out of his mirth. Looking at her in concern, he saw that she was a bit pale and anxious looking, as if she had seen something terrifying. "What…what's wrong?" he asked. "Don't tell me you ate the spud balls."

Jeri turned toward him, biting her lip and clinging to her mop tightly. She seemed to be wrestling with a decision before, finally, she opened up. "I saw…what did it."

Takato froze. _Uh oh…_


	22. Difficult Digimon

Takato swallowed anxiously as he stood his mop upward, work presently forgotten. "Um…what do you mean you…saw it?" His mind flew. Was there really a digimon running around the school? Could it be Guilmon? Or something else?

Jeri adjusted her grip on her mop so that she could face him more fully. "It all started this morning," she began, holding the mop close to her as if to comfort her distress. "It all started this morning; I wasn't feeling well so I went to the infirmary…"

As she spoke, Takato began to imagine the scene of the girl, tucked snugly within the bed sheets at the nurses office with nothing but the smell of iodine and canter oil to keep her company. He knew the smell from experience, and that the place could be disquieting with how silent it was. When he was younger it left him with the impression that there were no nurses at the school, which gave him nightmares for weeks afterward.

Seeing Jeri shiver, he snapped him back to reality. "…when suddenly…I heard something fall. I woke up and asked who was there, but all I heard was…was the sound of bottles shaking and something else falling."

"And…then what?" Takato asked, now interested in hearing more. He could feel the tension in her story building, or perhaps that was just him eager to hear what it was that had invaded the school.

"I got out of bed and fearlessly marched right over to the cabinet to see what was there. There were more crashes and rattling, but I thought, "Probably just a cat."" Jeri looked away briefly. "I know that sounds silly…"

"It's not silly," Takato smiled, taking a step closer to her. He was starting to feel oddly protective of her, wanting to banish her worries. "So what happened next?"

"I moved in, like a lion stalking its prey," she continued to narrate. "Step by step, inch by inch. There was definitely something in the cabinet. I could see it. It was small, and dark, and it had glowing green eyes. I called to it. "Here kitty, kitty."" She shuddered again. "And then, when it turned and saw me, I heard it say, "Uh oh. And the next thing I know it jumps out of the cabinet and knocks me over to the floor."

After taking a second to compose herself, she continued. "When I looked up, I didn't see anything right away, so I called out again and then…when I looked up…there were little footprints all across the ceiling." Closing her eyes tightly, Jeri bit her lip. "I was lucky to make it out of there in one piece," she said after a moment.

Takato, not sure what to say, smiled awkwardly. "Man, you're brave," he offered, uncertain if that was the right thing to tell her. She smiled wanly at him though and resumed her mopping.

"So…uh…do you think maybe you saw a digimon?"

"I don't know," Jeri said, not looking at him. "Maybe…"

She let her words drift off as she continued her chores, leaving Takato to stare at her, perplexed and uncertain about the conversation that they had.

**###**

The calls of "Over here!" and "Pass it to me!" from the soccer players down on the field with now normal chalk lines as Henry and Takato walked by.

"Nobody has any idea who drew the chalk lines," Takato said, causing Henry to rub his chin thoughtfully.

"Hm...probably a prank," he mused. Truth be told, he hadn't really cared all that much about it and didn't give it any thought until Takato brought up Jeri's story. After all, kids were likely to cause messes purely for fun. He heard enough about Kazu's antics to know that much was certain.

Still, with this new information…

"Yeah, but you'd think they have some clue, but they don't," Takato added. Henry shrugged. Either way, the digimon didn't cause any real harm, so it didn't really concern him.

"Well whoever it is must be very clever," he said, hoping that would be the end of the conversation.

"Yeah, I guess they would have to be but a soccer field?" Takato continued, causing the boy to sigh mentally.

**###**

In the shadows of a nearby tree, overseeing the soccer game as it played out, a pair of green eyes glowed brightly. Within the depths of the shadows, there came a small giggle. Leaning forward to get a better look, light fell upon its white fur, and its eyes widened gleefully. Here it was, the 'clever' monster that terrorized a helpless soccer field and caused a stir at school. The beast that dared invade the school infirmary and frighten students…

Calumon. The Cute and the Tiny. The Swallower of Brains.

"Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!" he squealed delightedly as he watched the soccer game unfold. One of the players had dashed forward and kicked the ball into the net, deftly evading all the goal's defenders as though they weren't even there. Patting his now-rosy cheeks in excitement, he looked skyward, imagining himself in the same situation, a tiny shirt depicting his team affiliation and number. He kicked the ball down the field, its size proving to be no obstacle for his tiny feet. The humans?

Barely a challenge. They all but refused to even _try_ to stop him as he wove around them.

_"He's unstoppable! The best player ever!"_ screamed one in his imagination. _"I want my mommy!"_ screamed another. Kicking the ball up, he jumped, spun in the air, and belted the ball past the goalie.

_Nothing but net!_ he thought victoriously as his imaginary teammates began to chant his name. _"Yay Calumon! Yay Calumon! Yay CALUMON!"_

"Yay me!" Calumon giggled, caught in the throes of his daydream.

**###**

The sun took on an orange glow as it dipped closer toward the horizon. Sensing that the day was almost done, the players packed their things and parted ways. Calumon, not understanding what was going on, continued to sit in the tree in excitement at what the next match would bring.

"Yaaay!"he cried, imagining the field filling up at the sound, the players preparing to battle it out for the next victory.

Time passed, but the field remained both still and silent. Undaunted, Calumon belted out another excited cry.

"Yaaaay!"

Time continued to pass, with no more change than before save for the steadily vanishing light of the sun. Sensing something was amiss, Calumon's ears wilted and his expression became sad.

"Yay?"

Yes. Something was definitely wrong. His ears shrunk into his head. "How come no one's here?" he asked. Of course, no answer came to him save whatever he could think of for himself. "Maybe that black and white digimon they were kicking around got destroyed."

That made sense to him. Without an enemy to destroy, there was no reason to stick around. "Wait!" A light bulb clicked on in Calumon's head. "I know how to get people here!"

Hopping down from his tree, he headed over to the school's tool shed. He had been there before and knew that he could trace out the playing field with the chalk grinder that lay within. Laughing, he stopped at the door and began to tug…only for it to not so much as budge like it did last time. Perplexed, he stepped back and looked up to find something there that hadn't been before. It hooked around a latch secured against the door.

"Huh? A door earring?" It wasn't the name of course, but not knowing what it was he could only fall back on things he'd seen before. Well, he wasn't going to let the lock prevent him from having fun! Flying up, he tried to pull it off, but it didn't move any more than the door did. Scowling, he hopped back down and quickly returned with a rock.

"It just needs some gentle persuasion," he said before banging away on the rock with as much force as his tiny arms could muster. Surprisingly, this was considerable as, after a few hard blows, the lock came undone and fell to the ground.

"Yay me!" Calumon cried triumphantly, opening the door. Within short order he had the chalk grinder out and was pushing it across the field, using his ears to levitate him high enough to do the deed. "Now they'll come!"

He zigged and he zagged. Went this way and that, laying out the lines of his game on the field while doing the same for the rules in his head.

_And we'll play my way, without those boring straight lines. This is out of bounds and this is the goal line. And if you cross this one you'll have to hop like Frogmon for the whole game!_

He finally dropped the chalk grinder, satisfied that his work was complete. Turning, he surveyed the field and the winding lines that twisted haphazardly around and through each other. _Now that's a field that makes sense! Everyone in the whole wide world will wanna play with me. The most clever of digimon ever!_

Fully expecting the world to recognize his genius and flock to him immediately, he began a game with himself, kicking the ball down the field, giggling as he did so, while pretending someone was charging in for a tackle. Lifting up the ball now, he hopped toward the center of the field and bounced it off his head. Upon the ball's landing, he gave it a small kick and it rolled into the goal.

"He shoots, he scores! Yay, Calumon! Yay, Calumon! Yay, Calumon!"

Stopping now, he turned, smiling to see his cheering audience.

"Hm? No one came," he said in disappointment. "But it's the best game ever."

Life was never easy for the monster of fun.

**###**

A new day brings new possibilities, and Takato was eager to see what it had in store for him.

_So long as that girl doesn't try to start a fight with me again,_ he thought worriedly, looking at Guilmon who was striding next to him. He didn't think anything would happen today. He intended to stick to the quieter parts of the city and the park after all. _Not that it stopped her from tracking us down before… Ugh. I'm going to make myself paranoid if I keep thinking like that. She helped out last time so…maybe she's cooled off?_

He wanted to believe that, but he had his doubts. Two battles with her and another one with her 'assisting' him and Henry and even then she didn't seem to be particularly interested in being friends.

In his pocket, he felt the card she had dropped in the last battle—her trump card that could have been dangerous to Renamon had she used it. Could he be friends with someone like that? Who treated digimon as tools instead of friends?

"So how come it's okay to come here today?" Guilmon asked suddenly, breaking him out of his gloomy thoughts. Relaxing, Takato smiled. He supposed it was a bit unusual for Guilmon to be coming to school with him given the last time he had been there. That and it _was_ the weekend, another oddity for someone his age.

"Heh. Uh…because it's the weekend."

"Weekend?" Guilmon asked, tilting his head to one side.

"Yeah," Takato said, clarifying. "No one's at school, see?"

"Right," Guilmon nodded, only for another thought to occur to him. "Wait, but you and I are here, see?"

Takato laughed. "But no one else is gonna be here, see?"

"This is so confusing Takatomon…" Guilmon said, furrowing his brow at the complexities of humans. Turning into the gate that led to the school, the pair drew up short as they saw the principal, Mr. Kurosawa, and one of the teachers, Iwamoto, arguing as yet again the soccer field vandal had struck in the dead of night.

"This is even worse than the last time," Kurosawa complained. "Do you have any idea what our chalk budget is going to be this year? And we're hosting that big hop scotch tournament!"

"I have an idea," Iwamoto offered. "Why don't we just use some ground up bread crumbs? "

"Bread crumbs?" Kurosawa stammered, looking at the teacher in bafflement. "Wha…? Have you been reading that fairy tale book again? "

"I just like the pictures!"

Guilmon looked over at Takato, confused even more now. "But they're here, see?" he said, pointing at them. Takato gave a small laugh.

"Uh…yeah. I meant to say everyone else _but_ the teachers. Sorry. I'm not used to having to explain this stuff. I guess I just took it for granted. Let's…uh…let's sneak by them real quietly, okay boy? I don't want them to freak out or anything."

Guilmon nodded in agreement. As much fun as he had with the principal, the man had been dreadfully frightened by him. He didn't want to repeat that experience for him again.

Moving carefully so as to not be seen, they made their way to the back of the school where it kept animals. The school would rotate students for specific duties, such as cleaning the rooms and feeding any animals that it had. For him, today was that day.

"Hello, Takato," came the voice of Kari as they approached the holding pens. "Guilmon."

"We almost expected you to be late," Gatomon said, smirking. "But you're here early." She folded her arms over her chest. "Why can't you show that kind of dedication for class?"

"Now Gatomon…"

"It's just a simple question."

_Sheesh. It's almost like watching Henry and Terriermon…_ Takato thought. "Ah… I wasn't expecting to see you here, Ms. Kamiya," he said instead. "I mean, it's your day off."

"I know, but I thought I'd use the opportunity to check up on you since we have more time. I can't hold you in detention all the time and it's not a very good use of our time."

"Or your power," Gatomon remarked. Kari nodded.

"Yes, that too." Looking at Takato, she smiled, and he returned it, albeit a bit awkwardly as he wasn't sure what to say.

"I'll…um… I'll get to work feeding the rabbits now, ma'am."

"You do that," she nodded again, following him. "I'll help."

Together, they grabbed buckets and filled it up with lettuce and sliced carrots. Walking over to the holding pens where the school kept the rabbits, they unlatched it and entered. The rabbits were quick to swarm as they dumped their food into their feeding trays.

"Eat up guys," Takato said warmly as they began to nibble away.

"Making a friend there, Guilmon?" Kari asked, seeing the digimon sniff a rabbit that approached him warily, sniffing back. Kari had to admit she was surprised. While the animals were tame, most of them weren't so quick to investigate humans or even accept them as safe. Guilmon was more in line with their natural predators, yet this one didn't seem to be the least bit threatened by him.

"Just don't eat him, okay?" Takato laughed as Guilmon sat back, cocking his head to one side.

"Hmmm…" Turning, Guilmon sniffed the air. Takato raised an eyebrow, seeing the look in his eyes. Something had caught his attention.

"What's wrong?" he asked, causing Kari and Gatomon to both look at him more fully.

"Takato? Guilmon?" Kari asked, hearing the concern in her student's voice. Sniffing the air again, Guilmon's body grew tense.

"I smell… _digimon!"_

_"Digimon?!"_ Takato all but squeaked as he suddenly became nervous. _Is that girl here?_ he wondered before seeing Guilmon begin to wander off, testing the air as he searched for the intruder. "Careful!" he called. "It might be dangerous! And me without a weapon…unless it's afraid of rabbits…"

"Calm down Takato," Kari said, taking out her D-3 Digivice and exiting the cage. "I may be a little old, but I'm pretty sure I can still do the job."

"More like _this kitty_ will be the one doing the job," Gatomon said. "Remember that I'm the one who does the fighting, remember?"

"I haven't, Gatomon. That's why you'll be getting extra tuna tonight."

"Ohhh… You know me too well."

Not wanting to be left out of the action because of his inexperience, he looked frantically around and snatched up a broom. _This'll work,_ he thought, completely forgetting how well he had faired the last time he attacked a digimon with a weapon.

Guilmon continued to hunt for their target, and finally located the source of its scent behind a roller. "Back there," he whispered. Takato began to move slowly forward, broom raised, but Kari held a hand out in front of him.

"No, Takato," she whispered. "As your teacher and a Digidestined, it's my responsibility to see to your safety."

"We've got this," Gatomon said, stepping in front of Guilmon. "Just watch and learn from the professionals."

Takato bit down on his lower lip to keep from arguing. Kari and Gatomon crept up on the roll, each of them on one side so as to reduce the digimon's ability to retreat once cornered. They paused and looked at each other before suddenly charging past the roll, ready for anything.

Anything that is except a tiny creampuff of a digimon snoozing away.

"Huh?" Kari blinked, surprised by the find. Sensing that it was safe, Takato and Guilmon approached and looked over the roller.

"Hey, it's a cute little guy," Takato observed.

"Looks to be at the Fresh or In-Training level," said Gatomon. "I wonder what he was doing out here all by himself."

Hearing their noise, Calumon slowly opened his eyes and then, upon spying the humans and digimon surrounding him, suddenly became full of energy. His ears just about _exploded_ off his head as they widened alongside his eyes, and he began to bounce up and down excitedly. _"Hello, hello, hello, hellooo!"_

"Hey there," Kari said, approaching the digimon slowly with a soft smile. "Don't be afraid," she continued, reaching out toward him. "We're your…"

Calumon hopped away. "Nuh-uh-uh," he scolded.

"…friends," Kari finished with a deadpan.

"Hah?" Guilmon's mouth dropped open in surprise.

"What's wrong?" Takato asked, sliding over the roller and landing in front of Calumon in a crouch. "We're not going to hurt you." Spreading his arms, he tried to grab the tiny digimon, only for him to hop back once more.

"Play!" Calumon demanded, curling his ears and arms in toward himself.

"Okay," Gatomon said. Clearly not having any of this cutesy act, she came up from behind and leapt. "We'll… _play!"_

Once more Calumon simply hopped out of the way, causing the cat digimon to land on her stomach.

"Ah…" began Guilmon, flummoxed. "But I thought cats always landed on their feet…"

"Why don't you try to catch this digimon?" Gatomon grumbled irritably, getting to her feet. "He's not exactly a mouse you know."

"Tell you what?" Kari offered, taking out her cell phone. "Why don't we play later, okay?"

Calumon shook his head rapidly in protest. "No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No!"

_Why do I always get the difficult digimon?_ Kari wondered, dialing Ken's number.


	23. Episode 5: The Search: Part 1

Ken stretched and yawned as he busily sorted through a pile of folders—old reports and files. It was boring work, not to mention outdated, but there wasn't anything else going on at the moment so he was mostly keeping himself busy. Despite the fact that he favored technology, he found tedium relaxing from time to time, particularly when quiet days were already so hard to come by.

Blinking a bit sleepily, he craned his head over to Wormmon, who was at once doing two tasks thanks to his many legs—helping him sort through the massive pile and knitting a web sweater. The latter seemed to be an odd choice and brought to mind his grandmother.

_I bet that's who he picked it up from,_ he thought, amazed that the larval digimon was able to do the deed with such speed and accuracy without even having to look.

He was interrupted from his thoughts by a low knock at the door. "Come in," Ken replied instantly, turning a paper over.

"Hey dudes," came the voice of Davis, poking his head in.

"Hey Wormmon," added DemiVeemon from atop the man's head.

"All done with your patrol?" Ken asked. Davis nodded, stepping inside.

"Yeah. I checked out the sight like you told me to and I didn't mess with any of Takeru's guys." Pulling out his D-Terminal he handed it over to Ken, who popped it open to analyze the data gathered.

"More ice digimon residue," Ken frowned. "But at least this time we have a clearer picture. I think our digimon murderer is getting cocky."

Grinning, Davis slammed a fist into his open palm. "So how soon until we can go after this guy?"

"Not until we've identified the digimon," Ken said, getting up out of his seat and heading over to his computer. "And even then we still have to track it down." Typing in a few commands he began to pour through the archives, this time at a much more rapid speed than before. He wished Miki and Megumi were here but unfortunately they and their silent digimon partners were addressing other concerns at the moment. _Chief of which being college…_ He smiled wistfully. He almost felt old now.

"At any rate, this digimon appears to be exceptionally good at moving about without being detected. Without a pattern to pick up on we can't even predict its next move. All we know for sure is that Shinjuku is its hunting ground and that it's picking off digimon at random. This isn't helped by the fact that there's a Renamon out there doing the same thing."

"Hmmm…" Seating himself, Davis kicked back and put his feet up on the pile of folders. "Do you think they're working together?"

"That's a possibility, but we haven't had any better luck in tracking her down either." He scowled. "Takeru has been slow in his research on that it seems. At least, that's what Yolei seems to think when we talked last night. He's not putting it up as a priority even though he _knows_ that this Renamon is partnered to a human."

"You know, I'd say that's weird, but Takeru hasn't been right in the head for a while. Not since he joined the feds. Probably not even before then." He pressed his lips together into one thin line. "Not since what happened to Patamon and Kari anyway. I think that's when it happened."

Ken nodded. "Yeah, but this…is different. It _feels_ different to me anyway. I don't understand…"

He was abruptly cut off by the sound of his phone ringing. Pulling it out, he flipped it open. "Hey Kari," he answered, dreading what the call was about this time. Sadly, over the course of the past week it seemed that the only reason she had to contact him was to deal with some kind of problem involving digimon.

_No one ever just wants to say hi anymore…_

He listened to Kari inform him of the situation—one that, fortunately, did not sound like it was going to involve any serious trouble. "All right, I'll be right there," he said, closing up his phone. Pocketing it, he looked at Davis. "It seems we have another situation down at Shinjuku Elementary. A wild digimon, but fairly harmless. Would you like to take care of this one?"

The grin that broke across Davis' face was answer enough.

**###**

Davis made it down to the school in record time, paying his taxi to stick around and keep the meter running until he finished his business. Grinning as he passed through the gates of Shinjuku Elementary, he folded his arms behind his head, feeling a wave of nostalgia flow over him.

_It may not be Odaiba Elementary,_ he thought to himself. _But this place still kind of reminds me of it._

"Davis," came Kari's call from off to the side. Turning, he spied her down at the far end of the building. He headed over to her.

"Hey Kari," he waved. "Ken tells me that you've got a digimon problem."

_"Not_ a problem," she corrected. "But it does need handling." She furrowed her brow and glanced past him. "Ken isn't with you?"

"Sorry," Davis smiled apologetically. "He's got some work to do still. We're a little understaffed right now."

"I see." Kari pressed her lips into one thin line before nodding reluctantly. "All right. Come on. I'll introduce you to Calumon."

Davis was about to ask when he heard a sudden burst of laughter. Rounding a corner, he stopped in his tracks, eyes widening in surprise as he saw a tiny, white, creampuff-shaped digimon rolling around on the ground, lauging uncontrollably as, above him, Guilmon sniffed him over.

"Hey Davis," Takato said, coming over to him. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, the man raised a hand to receive a high-five from the boy.

"What's up, little dude?" he asked. Smiling awkwardly, Takato shrugged.

"Well, for once no one's being attacked, but instead we have a little guy who likes to cause trouble."

"It's always something, huh?" he chuckled before pointing at the tiny white digimon who was laughing at each and every breath taken. "Uh…so that's Calumon I take it?" he asked, looking at Kari. She seemed uncomfortable, but otherwise maintained a professional air between them.

"Right," Kari nodded. "It seems that he's responsible for causing some vandalism to the school soccer field."

Davis ran a hand through his hair, remembering some of the details Ken told him before he left. "And there wasn't a digital field or anything when you guys found him?"

Kari shook her head. "I'm amazed that we found him out on his own. This digimon seems to be rather young for that."

"He's definitely out there," DemiVeemon said from his spot on Davis' shoulder. "Just look at him. You wouldn't think that there's a whole world of evil digimon out there just waiting to load his data."

"Especially that ice digimon," Davis added.

"You and Ken are still working on the ice digimon case?"

"Yeah," Davis nodded. "That's what Ken was working on right when you called."

_"How do you get your nose so tickly?!"_ Calumon squawked as Guilmon continued his investigations.

Watching the whole scene with a concerned eye, Takato headed over to where Kari and Davis stood. "Um… So what happens now? Will you help Calumon find a partner or…what? I think he might need one since he's so little."

"Um…" Davis felt a bit uncertain as to what the protocol dictated here beyond taking the digimon into custody. He was still a bit inexperienced in all this. "That's going to be up to Ken once I get Calumon back to the office. I guess the first thing we're supposed to do is get a hold of the government so they can work things out from there."

Takato glanced at Calumon, who continued to roll around on the ground, laughing as Guilmon continued to sniff him over. Heading over to his partner, he placed a hand on his back. "I think you've got him good and smelled there, boy," he said with a light laugh.

"Ohhh… But he smells so… _weird,"_ Guilmon protested. "I've never smelled a digimon like him before."

"Um… You haven't smelled that many digimon," Takato replied, tilting his head to one side.

"I know, but I know what digimon smell like, and Calumon smells a little different."

"Like what?" Takato asked, genuinely curious. Guilmon tapped a claw against his chin for a moment while Calumon, having righted himself, looked on questioningly at why the tickling had stopped when it was so obviously fun to do. After a moment, Guilmon resumed sniffing the air and then pointed in the direction of Kari.

"Like her."

"Huh?" Kari asked, pointing at herself now. "Me?"

"Just a little bit," Guilmon said.

"Guilmon, you know Kari was trying to catch Calumon," said Gatomon. "I'm sure we _all_ smell a bit like him."

"Nope." Guilmon shook his head. "This is different." Poking his head at Calumon again, he took one big whiff and tilted his head questioningly. "I don't get it though. Are you part…hu…mon?"

"It's hu- _man,"_ Takato corrected. "We're not digimon, Guilmon."

"Okay, Takatomon."

"Guilmon…"

"Okay, dudes," Davis said, stepping forward. "I've got to get Calumon down to the office." Crouching down, he smiled at the diminutive digimon. "How about it, little bud? You want to see where I work?"

"Why? I'm having a lot of fun here."

Davis' mouth twitched a little. He suddenly got an idea as to why Kari had called Ken. "Yeah, but sometimes you need to mix it up a little, you know? If you keep doing the same stuff over and over, things get boring."

"But I'm not bored now, and Guilmon was tickling me."

"Face it Davis, he's just going to keep going circles around you," said DemiVeemon. "Maybe we should see if he wants to play tag?"

"What about food?" Davis asked, ignoring his partner. "I own a business that's _all_ about food. If you come with me, I'll let you have all that you can eat. How's that?"

Calumon's eyes and ears grew, and at once he began to dance around excitedly. Grinning triumphantly, Davis stood up and looked at the others.

"You guys must be out of practice. C'mon. You should know that all it takes for a digimon to cooperate is to promise food."

"Too bad that didn't work during the war," Gatomon deadpanned as Calumon hopped up onto Davis' shoulder.

"Giddyup!"

"Easiest job I've had today," Davis chuckled. "All right. I'll see you guys later."

With that, the Bearer of Courage headed off, waving goodbye to Kari and Takato while nodding to the principal, who was presently cowering from inside the school, keeping a safe distance between himself and the digimon outside.

"I guess that's that," Kari said, approaching Takato and placing a hand on his shoulder. "He's in good hands, Takato."

"I guess…" the goggle-wearing boy said uncertainly. "It's just… He's so little. He really should have someone watching out for him."

"I'm little, are you saying I need Kari to watch out for me?" asked Gatomon, placing her paws on her hips. Kari scowled at the feline digimon.

"Gatomon. That's not what he meant."

"I know what he meant," Gatomon said. "But I don't think he should worry that much. It's pretty clear that Calumon's been around for a while. He's not a Fresh Level, so he's not exactly helpless. He knows how to handle himself."

"Still, he shouldn't be wandering around on his own without supervision," Kari interceded. "He might end up causing trouble without knowing it."

"If the most trouble he can cause is with a soccer field, I don't think there's a problem."

"Gatomon!" Sighing, Kari shook her head and massaged her temples. "I'm sorry, Takato," she said to the boy. "You should go home now."

"Ah… okay." Giving one last, worried look at the pair, Takato patted the side of his leg, indicating for Guilmon to follow, and then headed off. Kari watched him go for a second before turning back to her partner.

"What's that all about, Gatomon?" she asked. The feline digimon dropped her head a little, scowling.

"I'm sorry, Kari," she apologized. "It's just… Takato reminds me a lot of how you and the others were when you were all his age. You'd get distracted sometimes by even the smallest things like a little digimon being out on their own. It's gotten you into trouble sometimes."

Kari's expression softened at that. "I understand," she said. "But…this isn't like it was during the war. It's just one tiny digimon who's in our world."

"I know," Gatomon admitted reluctantly. "I guess…I'm not sure if I like the idea of Takato getting involved in all this. I…" She hesitated, leaving Kari looking at her curiously.

"Gatomon?"

"It's…nothing."

"No, it's not nothing, Gatomon. You wouldn't have brought it up if you thought it wasn't important." Kneeling down in front of her partner so that they could be as close to eye level as possible, Kari reached out and brushed the side of her partner's face with a finger. "Gatomon, I think Takato's going to end up fighting for the digital world in the end. It wouldn't have given him a digivice if it thought otherwise." She pondered her partner's words for a moment before continuing. "Besides, we can do for him what we didn't have when we first started; guide him. Teach him."

"You're already teaching him," smirked Gatomon. Kari laughed.

"You know what I mean."

Gatomon heaved a heavy sigh. "All right, Kari. I'm sorry. I'm just…worried. That kid has never seen a real battle before. It might break him." _Like it did, TK,_ she thought to herself. "He's too green."

Kari smiled. "We all were, once upon a time."

**###**

Rika Nonaka sat at her table in her room, an I-pad set up by one hand displaying card strategy forums and her deck on the other. Turning over a card from the top of her deck—a Renmaon card—she set it down between the two. Reaching over to the pad, she scrolled down, reading the stats of the latest releases of cards, calculating the effect they would have on her partner. It wouldn't be exactly the same—real digimon were impacted by card effects slightly differently from the card game—but it was close enough for her to gauge what the results would be.

_If I could just get that card…_ she thought, frowning slightly. However, she didn't have the funds for it, surprisingly, having spent much of it to replace the Mega-level card that she lost in the battle with Mephistomon. Her scowl deepening, remembering that, and she turned over another card from her deck, this one featuring a battle axe. It was a modify card and one that she wanted to experiment with in the wake of said battle with the Ultimate. Unfortunately, things had been quiet since then, save for a news report about an ice digimon killing a Gazimon, and with her last three matchups attracting the attention of the authorities she felt it was far better to just lay low for the time being, at least until something interesting happened.

_If that ice-mon could just stick around long enough, I'd see about hunting him too,_ Rika thought. _Those two Goggleheads and the Digidestined aside, he might as well be the only game in town._

But she didn't want to fight the Digidestined. As much as she didn't believe their claims of heart being what digivolved digimon, they were international heroes. Not to mention Biyomon was…her friend after a fashion. The idea of hurting her didn't sit well with her stomach.

_Gargomon's still too powerful too,_ she thought. _And that Gogglehead with his Dinoboy are too weak to be a challenge. I guess that hazard sign was just for show in the end. I…huh?_

She felt something off to her side—a presence—and then her door slid open, revealing Sora, smiling softly at her. "Hey," the woman said. "Mind if I come in?"

Rika shrugged nonchalantly. "The door's open," she replied simply. Sora chuckled lightly.

"So is that a yes or a no?"

"You can come in," the girl sighed, though the faintest sign of a smirk tugged at the corners of her lips. Nodding, Sora stepped into the room and closed the door behind her.

"Playing the game?" she asked, setting herself down at the table. Rika nodded.

"I'm…getting ready for a tournament," she said hesitantly. "It's kinda stupid."

"If it's important to you, then it's not," Sora said, taking a look at the cards on the table. "She's very beautiful," nodding at the Renamon card.

Rika _harrumphed._ "Now you're starting to sound like my mother," she said bluntly. Sora gave a light laugh at that.

"Hazard of the business I'm afraid. You know we work together. But if that's not what you care about, do you mind telling me what is?"

Rika glanced at Sora, perplexed as to why she was even asking in the first place. It reminded her of a conversation she had with her mother some months back, close to when she became partners with Renamon.

"Renamon's strong," she said finally, deciding to humor her. "She's a fighter."

"You like to fight then?"

"You sound like you're judging me." Rika said defensively. "Why does it matter?"

"Because it's been a while since you and I have talked, and even I can get tired of Rumiko talking about shopping and fashion. When I was your age I liked to do other things. Flower arrangements. Tennis. Soccer."

Rika nodded. She remembered that. It was one of the reasons why she liked Sora. "I like challenges," she said after a moment of silence. She flipped over another card, this time a Kyubimon card—a nine-tailed fox that Renamon would eventually digivolve to.

Or _should_ if she just hurried up and did it already.

"There's nothing challenging about standing around having your picture taken," Rika continued.

"I wouldn't say that," Sora disagreed. "But I suppose it's a matter of experience and taste."

"Hmmm…" Rika turned over another card, a hyper-chip modify card. "Can't be any more challenging than going to the digital world."

Sora barked a laugh at that. "I won't disagree there."

"That must have been one heck of an adventure."

Sora expression became thoughtful… _distant_ as she looked back on those days. "Not an adventure like in the stories you used to read when you were younger," Sora said. "Always wondering where the next meal was coming from…or if we were going to _be_ a meal. Some digimon didn't even come after us for food. They just saw us as a threat to be removed."

"You defeated them though."

"It wasn't easy, and it cost us a lot in the end. Did you ever go to the Wizardmon memorial site?"

"No." Rika shook her head. "But I hear his ghost sometimes makes an appearance for the tourists."

"You should visit it sometime. When there's less of a crowd."

"Hmmm…" Rika pressed her lips together. "Maybe."

To be honest, she wasn't that terribly interested in the notion. What was the point after all? It was just a marker in front of the Fuji Television Network station after all. Ghosts didn't even spook her either.

"How are things with Matt?" Rika asked after a moment of silence.

"Nothing new to report," Sora replied, shaking her head. "He's okay I'm sure."

Rika resisted the urge to snort derisively. "What makes you so sure of that?" In her mind, she thought about her father and how he didn't come home from the digital world. "Because of destiny or something like that?"

She hated the tone she was taking with Sora—she didn't deserve it—but at the same time she couldn't help it. She hated words like destiny, and with Sora and Matt being the one thing that had the word attached to it… It almost felt unfair, like they had no control over their lives. Or had something special that made them nearly untouchable compared to everyone else.

"No." Sora touched her chest. "It's just something I feel in here."

"That sounds like hocus pocus," Rika deadpanned. "I'm sorry, but it really does."

"That's all right," Sora smiled. "You'll understand some day."

Rika _harrumphed._ "I doubt it."

Sora chuckled. "All right," she said. "We'll leave that aside for now." Reaching out, she tapped the Renamon card. "Do you have one of Biyomon?"

"I…yeah." Rika raised an eyebrow at her. "Why?"

Sora smirked. "Care to show me how the game is played?"


	24. Episode 5: The Search: Part 2

Humming happily to herself, Suzie Wong headed over to the door at the sound of the doorbell, Terriermon crushed to her chest and wearing a pink bonnet and bib with a pacifier stuffed in his mouth. Reaching up on the tips of her toes, the young girl pulled the door open, revealing Takato Matsuki and Guilmon. The goggle-wearing boy was just about to say hello when he abruptly stopped, seeing the digimon's predicament.

"Uh…Terriermon?" he began, his hand caught in mid-wave. The rabbit-dog digimon spat out the pacifier and scowled at them.

"If you two say… _anything_ …I will hurt you."

"Does that include asking this question?" asked Guilmon, causing Terriermon to turn his baleful glare on him.

_"Yes!"_

_Wow, someone needs to momentai…_ thought Takato before bending down so he could be more at eye-level with Suzie. "Um… Is Henry here? He left me this address and buzzed me in when I called from downstairs…"

"I'm over here," Henry said, entering the room. "Sorry," he apologized. "I had to shut down a few things. What's up?"

"I hate to bother you like this Henry," Takato began, "but Me, Guilmon and Ms. Kamiya found a digimon at the school. It's just a little guy and Mr. Motomiya was able to take him into custody, but I was kind of thinking that since they're probably going to be looking for someone to partner him with maybe we could find someone to suggest?"

Henry pressed his lips together into a tight line, not sure if he wanted to deal with that. Since the Mephistomon battle, he had his fill of dealing with Wild Ones no matter how peaceful they were.

However, before he could express this sentiment, Terriermon began to squirm and eventually popped out of Suzie's arms, dropping to the ground.

"Sorry Suzie. It's time for this doggy to go on a walk," he said, pulling off his bib and bonnet. The little girl looked a bit put out by this, but she nodded in understanding.

"Okay," she said, giving him a small pat. "I'll get the doggy bag for Henwy!"

"Doggy bag?" Takato asked, cocking his head to one side. Placing his tiny hands on his hips, Terriermon turned his head up at him.

"Digimon have to poop too you know, and not everyone can just use a human bathroom. There are _laws_ for that sort of thing. Sheesh!"

"Hey, sorry!" Takato exclaimed, putting his hands up in a placating gesture. "I didn't…I guess I didn't know, okay? I've never had a digimon before and…" A thought occurred to him and he turned toward Guilmon. _I've never seen anything from Guilmon… Is that why he keeps digging up the bunker? Is he burying it?_

"Are you all right, Takatomon?" Guilmon asked, seeing his partner involuntarily shudder as the little girl handed Henry a small bag before taking off to a corner of the living room. Terriermon snickered and climbed up onto Guilmon's back.

"Takatomon is learning about the facts of life," he said sarcastically. Takato sighed.

"I'm _not_ a mon!"

Henry sighed as well. It seemed Terriermon's real purpose was to get him out of the house and doing things.

_Well, it's not like I have anything better to do…_ "What kind of digimon is it?" he asked.

"He calls himself Calumon. I've never heard of a digimon by that name before, so maybe he's a new kind?" Shaking his head, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his notepad. Flipping it open, he produced a crude sketch of the digimon in question—a large head with even larger ears attached to a body that was incredibly small by comparison. A red triangle flanked by three smaller ones stood out prominently above the eyes. Henry furrowed his brow thoughtfully and took the notepad for a better look.

"Anyway," Takato continued. "He's pretty small, so I think he's about the In-Training level. My digivice couldn't get any information on him. He seems harmless enough though."

"Maybe Suzie would like him," chirped Terriermon, causing Takato to raise an eyebrow.

"Uh… Who's Suzie?"

"My sis," Henry replied, glancing over his shoulder at the girl as she danced around the living room, pretending to be a ballerina. "She's nice I guess."

Stopping mid dance, she ran over to a table where she had a group of stuffed toys all arranged around with a set of dishes and a pot of tea.

"Ms. PrettyPants!" she sang. "Time to get ready for the ball. Let's do wear my chiffon coat. She's just blossomy in it! It brings out my eyes. Whatever Ms. PrettyPants wants, Ms. PrettyPants gets." Grabbing the arm of one of the toys, she raised it into the air, preparing to swap out the jacket it was currently wearing. "Here you go, you'll be the bell of the ball and everyone will be your friend forever and ever and ever."

Takato looked at Henry, alarmed. "By nice, you mean crazy, right?"

Henry gave him an apologetic smile. "Pretty much."

"Then again, Calumon's not playing with a full deck either," Takato offered.

"Yeah, but I wouldn't wish the Ms. PrettyPants treatment on anyone," Henry replied. "You saw what she did to Terriermon after all. Would you want to go through that?"

"Ah…" At that, Takato raised his eyes skyward and imagined the poor digimon in the hands of Suzie, envisioning the girl just loading Calumon down with clothes and jewelry for whatever pretend game she wanted until finally he just collapsed under the sheer weight of it all. Takato hung his head.

"See what I mean?" Henry asked at that.

"Yeah… Well, I guess that means we'll need someone who's a little less crazy. I think I might know someone."

Henry looked back over his shoulder and then at Terriermon, who seemed to be eyeing him meaningfully. Giving a small sigh, he nodded reluctantly.

"All right," he said. "Who?"

**###**

"Are we there, yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"Still no, little dude."

DemiVeemon scowled up at Calumon, or tried to from his spot in Davis' arms, as the man's head was largely in the way of the diminutive digimon that sat on it.

"I don't suppose you could be satisfied with just the one answer," DemiVeemon deadpanned. "We can't just teleport around you know."

"Ohhhh…" Calumon replied, eyes sparkling. "I remember digimon like that! He was funny!"

Davis glanced down at DemiVeemon and the two of them shrugged. "Sorry we're not as funny, little bud," Davis grinned. "We'll get there though, don't worry. For now, you're just going to have to chill out, okay?"

"Okay," Calumon said quietly, adjusting himself atop Davis' head. They continued on and for several minutes, quiet reigned.

"Are we there yet?" the digimon asked after the time was up.

"No," Davis and DemiVeemon groaned together.

"But I'm sooo hungryyy… Not to mention bored. Playing is like breathing. I'll pass out if I don't do it soon!"

"Trust me dude. If DemiVeemon can handle it, so can you. You won't meet anyone else who can win a hold your breath contest. Seriously. Why do you think he's so blue all the time?"

"Wha…?" DemiVeemon blinked in bafflement. "But…Davis…"

"Just follow my lead DemiVeemon," Davis whispered.

"A hold your breath contest?" Calumon looked at the pair quizzically, not sure if he believed them or not. Sure, the game _sounded_ fun, but he had never heard of it. "Do you win when the other person faints?"

"Sure," Davis chuckled. "But like I said, DemiVeemon is the undisputed champ. He's been holding his breath ever since I met him. I've never beaten him once and it's been…sixteen? Seventeen years?"

"You're kinda laying it on a little thick there, ain't ya?" DemiVeemon asked, though he had to admit he was amused.

"Just run with it," Davis said as atop his head Calumon tapped his chin thoughtfully.

"Okay, DemiVeemon!" he declared. "You're going _down!"_

"Oh, this ought to be good…" DemiVeemon sighed, Calumon's cheeks puffing out as the first round began.

**###**

Takato, Henry, Terriermon and Guilmon all stood outside the dinosaur hut at the playground, a fair enough distance away so as to not be immediately noticed, but close enough where they could hear what was going on with the two kids sitting at its entrance.

"Kazu?" Henry asked, a bit surprised by Takato's choice.

Within the hut, the visor-wearing boy's hands hung over a card in his hand and he took it, playing it on the field. "Okay… I'll play my…upgrade card."

Across from him were Kenta and one other boy. Takato recognized him as Yuji, both gaped at the move.

"Huh?" Kenta gasped. "You can't do that."

"But that's not fair!" exclaimed Yuji.

"Yeah," Takato nodded. "I was kind of thinking about him because, well, he knows almost everything about digimon."

"Hmmm…" Henry placed a hand on his chin thoughtfully. "Not everything," he said, narrowing his gaze on the boy. He knew only a little bit about Kazu's behavior, and what he could tell from his gaming style didn't paint him in any better light. He was almost like a bully in some ways, aggressive and pushing for power. Henry felt himself tense up in familiarity at it, but he kept his calm.

"I've won," Kazu declared. "Doesn't matter if it's fair or not!"

"Does too!" Kenta complained. Kazu however refused to listen and instead slapped down a card on the playing field, causing Yuji to grab his head and scream out in frustration.

_"Ohhhh no, not again!"_

"What do you mean, Henry?" Takato asked.

"Think about it," Henry began, dropping his hand and looking at Takato. "There's more to digimon than just powering them up over and over. Think about that girl who's been attacking us lately. She didn't care for her Renamon beyond just a tool for battle. Kazu looks like he'd be the same way. Look at the way he plays the game. He gives his digimon all sorts of powers so it can beat up the other guy but he takes away all the energy it uses to protect itself. If Calumon is as little as you say he is, that will only end up hurting him more in the long run."

"Hmmm…" Takato thought about it for a second. "Yeah, that sounds like something Kazu would do alright. He's really big into power."

In his mind's eye, he imagined Kazu as a boxing coach wearing an eye patch while Guilmon and Calumon were ready to pummel each other into pulp like two pugnacious, pugilists. He imagined Kazu playing the Upgrade card and Calumon charging at Guilmon. Guilmon simply blocked the attack, causing Calumon to bounce back and attempt to charge him again, only this time Guilmon coming in under the punch and delivering a knockout blow. Calumon, having not taken any precautions to protect himself, took the punch full on and collapsed to the ground in a heap, Kazu yelling indignantly.

"Yep, you're right Henry," Takato sighed. "Uh…so who can we get now?"

"Well, we've already decided that Suzie isn't any good," Terriermon pointed out.

"A girl isn't a bad idea," Henry said, turning away from the scene of Kazu's victory. "But maybe we need someone our own age."

"Really?" Takato asked, following after him alongside Guilmon.

"Yeah, is there anyone from your class?"

"Uh… A girl from my class, huh?" Takato again looked upward as he ran through the list of girls he knew and finally settled on Jeri. She was nice and…

…he quickly remembered her story from the previous day when she mentioned her experience in the infirmary and how that had upset her. While she knew digimon were real, as far as he knew she had never actually met one in real life. Would she be any less afraid no matter how cute Calumon was?

He didn't have much confidence that freaking out would not rank as her first reaction.

Hearing her imagined screams of terror echoing in the depths of his mind, he placed a hand over his head and groaned.

"Mom's right… My imagination can be a curse," he said as Henry, Terriermon and Guilmon all looked at him in confusion.

**###**

Ken Ichijouji leaned back in his chair as he tapped on his data pad and cross-referenced it with the information his computer screen was showing.

_That clinches it,_ he thought. _There's no other digimon out there that this could fit with. We're dealing with an IceDevimon for sure. That…is not good._

There was more as well. From the latest crime scene, there was an additional pattern of data available. Subtle… So very subtle. He would have missed it if not for the fact that the ice data left behind had shown signs of melting prior to reforming again. It was almost as if another entity—one unlike any he had on record—had arrived and left without so much as a fuss.

_I don't understand this fluctuation here,_ he thought, looking back at the graph on the screen. _It looks like a kind of camouflage, but…I'm not sure what it's supposed to be. There are many digimon who use stealth to surprise their enemies. Dark digimon can use invisibility or a kind of 'fade' ability that's not unlike moving between worlds. Bakamon can take on the form of humans—though usually humans wearing a mask. Experienced ones can actually copy a specific human…_

He tapped his desk forcefully, as if the harder impact would jar his brain into coming to some realization.

_I need to take this to Takeru,_ he thought. _There's just no other way around it. He has the resources that I don't. He has more minds working on it while I have just me, Miki, Megumi and Davis. More importantly, he has Yolei's mind working on it._

Leaning back in his chair, he massaged the ridge of his nose. He felt as though he were blindly stumbling around in the dark.

_At least I've managed to get this far, which is more than what Takeru has shown to date. What is he doing? Is he even trying?_

Answers eluded him, leaving him to sarcastically wonder if he were better off with the intelligence and cocky attitude that he had as the Digimon Emperor.

_At least then I had not just the resources but also the certainty to do what I felt needed to be done…_

No. That was not the way. Leaning back toward the computer, he typed in a few commands and brought up a map of Shinjuku. With a few more commands he displayed all the sites where the Renamon and the IceDevimon had been detected.

_Nowhere near each other,_ he noted. _And no pattern that I can see either. Their focus seems to be primarily within the major areas of the city, which makes sense. That's where the majority of human online Internet access signals are emanating. Digimon always have an easier time bio-emerging there._

He took note of the fact that the Renamon was more in a residential area and had a narrower range of movement by comparison.

_Makes sense,_ he thought. _If it's partnered with a human, its battles are going to be limited to how far the partner's feet can carry them…_

"Ken?"

"Hm?" Blinking blearily, he looked away from his computer screen to find Wormmon approaching him with a tray of brownies. "Oh… Wormmon, you didn't have to do that."

"Of course I did," the insect digimon replied. "You've been staring at that computer screen for hours and it's ruining your eyes. I had to do something, and brownies are a good way to get you away from that awful thing."

"That _awful thing_ helped create you, you know."

"And I'm grateful for that, but it's still ruining your eyes," Wormmon said, pushing the tray at him. "Now eat before I have to buy you a pair of glasses."

"All right," Ken chuckled lightly, taking one of the offered brownies and popping it into his mouth. At once the sweet, heavenly taste of chocolate assaulted his senses, causing his eyes to roll back up into his head.

"You're too good at this," Ken said. "Too good."

"Well, you _did_ download the knowledge and data of brownie making into me back when you were the Digimon Emperor. That was one of your better ideas."

"Not very ethical though, all things considered," Ken winced. Wormmon shrugged, not minding the upgrade. He was glad to be able to offer more assistance to his partner or his friends than just being a fighter.

"Battles can be won or lost on brownies and empty stomachs. I'd say the ends justify the means. Now, let's leave that aside. How are we with the investigation?"

"Coming along, but there are some things that we still need confirmation on. Like that strange data pattern I mentioned before…"

Ken was interrupted as the door to the office opened, and in walked Davis, DemiVeemon on one shoulder and Calumon on the other, both glaring at each other while holding their breaths.

"Uh… Hello Davis," Ken began, looking at the strange sight with raised eyebrows. "Do I…even want to know?"

"I didn't have any food so it was either this or listen to Calumon keep asking if we were there yet," Davis admitted with a light, embarrassed laugh. "Just one of those things you had to be there for."

"I see." Getting up from his seat, Ken made his way over to Davis and looked Calumon over, who currently continued to hold his breath stubbornly. "Hello…Calumon. I don't suppose you could answer a few questions?"

"Mmm! Mmm!" Calumon pointed at DemiVeemon, whose face was just starting to turn red.

"This is like their hundredth round or something," said Davis. "Somewhere down the line DemiVeemon got serious and now it's for the world championship."

"Really." Recognizing the streak of stubbornness in Calumon, Ken turned his attention to DemiVeemon, a look on his face telling him to 'knock it off'. Seeing it, the tiny digimon's face deflated as he finally took a breath.

"Yay me!" Calumon cheered, letting go his breath in one mad rush and hopping off Davis' shoulder. "I'm the best, most talented digimon _eveeerrr!"_

Ken watched the diminutive creampuff bounce around the room without care for what he ran into, knocking off papers from the table and following them to the floor where he immediately began sliding around on them, laughing hysterically in his triumph. He sighed and massaged his head again.

"I see that this is where things are going to be interesting…in a Chinese fortune cookie kind of way," he said.

"Huh?" Davis asked. "I don't get it."

"Never mind. But…it might be a good idea to the aspirin ready. I have a feeling this isn't going to be an easy interrogation."

"Uh… Okay."

As Davis left the room, Ken rolled up a chair and sat down in it directly across from their visitor. "So…Calumon, right?"

"Yup!" Calumon chirped, hopping up to his feet. "Do you have any food? The other big guy promised me some once I got here!"

Ken resisted the urge to groan in exasperation.

_Why do I have to get the difficult digimon?_ he wondered.


	25. Episode 5: The Search: Part 3

"I'm so booored…" Calumon moaned, floating around the room of Ken's office while below DemiVeemon watched him anxiously.

_Hurry up and get back with the food, you guys,_ he thought. Davis, Ken and Wormmon were currently out getting food for the diminutive creampuff, having located nothing in the office that would even remotely sate his appetite.

"How about we play a game?" DemiVeemon asked, hoping that would at least distract him.

"There's nothing to do in here though," Calumon said, lighting on a table. "There's nothing here but paper and some weird screen thing."

_Screen thing…? Oh. The computer._

"Sorry. This place isn't exactly meant for fun," DemiVeemon replied. "It's a place for work, so we can't have that kind of stuff around here."

"Ohhh… You guys are way too serious!" Calumon groaned, flopping down on the table and rolling over, scattering some of the pages and causing a pile of them to slump over and fall to the floor. DemiVeemon jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding being crushed beneath their weight. "How can you go somewhere that's not fun? I'm so bored I'd even play chess! Are you sure there aren't any games here?"

"We could play hide and go seek," DemiVeemon suggested. "Or tag. What do you say?"

Calumon's eyes lit up, sparkling as he peeked over the table. _"Yes!"_ he exclaimed, bouncing down toward him. "Hide and seek! Hide and seek!"

"Okay," DemiVeemon nodded, glad to have at least some kind of progress in distracting the digimon being made. "Do you want to hide or…"

"I do, I do!" Calumon crowed, jumping up into the air. "No one can beat me at hiding! You'll _never_ find me!"

"Okay," DemiVeemon said, shrugging his tiny shoulders and covering his eyes with the tiny stumps that made up his arms. "I'll count to ten then while you find a place to hide. One…"

Calumon looked around the room curiously. There unfortunately weren't that many places that looked like a good hiding spot. There were bookshelves and potted plants, and of course there were tables and chairs alongside the computers, but they were too obvious and easy to spot. Everything was out in the open or too tight against the wall to be able to hide behind without causing a lot of noise.

"Three…"

"Where can I hide?" Calumon asked himself, starting to become a bit frantic. There were the desk drawers, but that again had the same issue as anything up against the wall. It would make too much noise and be easy to locate. The windows were no good either since there were no drapes over them. They…

_The windows open!_ Calumon exclaimed mentally, quickly flying over to it and squeezing through the crack. Popping out on the other end as DemiVeemon reached eight he smirked and flew up to the roof, setting himself down. "He'll never find me up here," he said, completely pleased with himself as inside the blue digimon reached ten and announced, _"Ready or not, here I come!"_

**###**

The sun began to bid its goodbye to the city of Shinjuku, causing the sky to burn with a golden glow as it dipped ever slowly closer to the horizon. Takato closed the gate to Guilmon's home, its rusty hinges creaking.

"Ohhh…" Guilmon pouted. "The whole day is gone and we didn't even get to play…"

"I'm sorry boy," Takato apologized, resting a hand on one of the iron bars. "We had a lot of things just drop in on us, didn't we?"

"Uh-huh," Guilmon nodded, his ears drooping. "We didn't even find a partner for Calumon, and we searched _all day!"_ Guilmon laid himself down, placing his chin on the broken ground. "There's no fun without a partner… It's boring when you're not here, Takatomon."

Takato felt his heart break a little at his partner's helplessness against his many long hours of loneliness. "Sorry Guilmon," he apologized again. "I guess… I don't know." He dipped his head a bit, searching for something to say – some great wisdom to impart on his partner, but presently there was none to be had from the great well. The gods it seemed were more interested in withholding that inspiration than giving it. "Maybe we'll find something tomorrow. Or maybe Mr. Motomiya and Mr. Ichijouji found someone already. We'll find out. It's just going to take time."

"I hate it when things take time," Guilmon replied, the tip of his tail giving a particularly forceful twitch on the ground. He and Takato watched each other for a moment before Guilmon sighed. "You'd better go home, Takatomon. Your mom will digivolve into Angrymon if you're late again."

"Huh?" Takato blinked before abruptly laughing at his partner's words. "All right, boy. I'll see you tomorrow."

With one final wave, Takato dashed down the stairs leading back to the park path and disappeared from Guilmon's sight. The dragon-digimon's golden eyes stared at the spot the boy had vacated before turning up at the golden horizon. His ears twitched, as if sensing something before he wrapped his tail around himself. Closing his eyes, he drifted off to the empty void that was sleep.

Sleep would make the new tomorrow come sooner, and then he could see Takato again.

**###**

_So this is where you were hiding,_ Renamon thought from the tree that currently hid her from Guilmon's questing eyes. She was sure that he had briefly sensed her, but she was long accustomed to shielding her presence when she didn't want to be detected. Guilmon's senses were good, but the fact remained that he was still only a novice at using them.

She had been wondering where he went off to the last time she visited the Matsuki Bakery and finding him no longer there. Not that she was particularly concerned given how often he was by his partner's side whenever the human boy didn't have to be in school or at home, but knowledge was always half the battle, and observing Guilmon's habits went a long way toward providing crucial information. The more she knew, the better.

She didn't expect too much from this outing, given that he now slipped into sleep – apparently searching for a partner for some digimon had tired him out – but there wasn't much to do while Sora and Biyomon were staying at Rika's home. Biyomon especially, due to her senses being sharper than the average human and being a partner to one of the original Digidestined.

_I would do well to not underestimate her,_ she thought, as the golden glow of the sky began to turn a deep red, and then settled toward a dark purple. Shadows grew long before finally swallowing the landscape, leaving only night stretching as far as the eye could see with only the city lights breaking through like candles. Her ears angling, she listened to Guilmon's breathing. Determining that he had now gone completely to sleep, she phased out of the tree and materialized in front of the gate.

The vulpine digimon ran a claw along the gate bars, testing their strength. Nothing that would stop a determined digimon. Certainly not anything that could keep her out or Guilmon in.

_Curious,_ she thought, gazing into the interior. The bunker would be pitch black to a human, but she saw it as clear as day. Broken concrete; torn up dirt. No doubt Guilmon was the culprit. Of course, having not seen him do the job it was difficult to say, but as he remained the only digimon she had seen in the area, there was little reason to doubt otherwise.

_Clearly he's capable of causing great damage even at the Rookie level,_ Renamon mused, folding her arms over her chest. _He could leave this prison and never look back. Yet he chooses to stay here and let these bars be his limits until his partner says otherwise._

She narrowed her eyes. Strange behavior for a Virus digimon, and even stranger for one that bore the mark of the Digital Hazard.

_Curious,_ she thought, focusing on his sleeping form. His chest rose up and down rhythmically. He remained completely unaware of her presence. Easy to destroy. Easy prey.

She pulled her paws into tight fists, tensing up. Below, Guilmon mumbled something… _"Takatomon digivolve…"_ she heard him say before he adjusted his snout, burying it deeper beneath the makeshift blanket that was his tail. He gave a deep huff before returning to his slumber.

Renamon's fists relaxed. She found herself feeling conflicted now, although why she couldn't quite explain. Here she stood with her prey right before her. She _should_ destroy him and take his data. Grow stronger. That was her purpose after all.

She thought of the two humans and their partners, and she thought about Rika, who they stood in opposition to.

_No,_ she thought, shaking her head to herself. _When I load you, it should be with Rika by my side. We are to share each other's strength. This…would be no victory for our partnership over yours. It would only be for me and that…is not why I joined my cause with hers._

Her eyes shone in the shadows as she faded from view.

_Until we meet again, Guilmon…_

**###**

"Man, Ken," began Davis as Ken picked out some packaged meats and dropped them into his shopping cart, "you've seriously been putting off buying groceries for the past two weeks? I would have thought you'd get something as soon as the cupboards were empty."

"I've been snared by this case, what can I say?" Ken replied, picking up some more meat and looking over the expiration date. "It's been driving me nuts, so I've been spending more time at the office trying to work things out."

"He's even taken to sleeping there some nights," Wormmon added. Davis raised an eyebrow.

"Uh… Yolei's fine with that, right?"

"She hasn't said, not that she's not dealing with the same problems. Her job is getting busier too," Ken said, putting the meat back and pushing the cart down the aisle. "Government work is like that, but at least her salary is light years better than mine. Otherwise we'd starve for other reasons." Ken sighed. "Maybe I should have followed her into working for the Japanese government. Or at least have a job where the hours are more manageable. It's hard to have time for her with our current schedules." He barked a harsh laugh, suddenly looking exhausted. "You know she wants to have a family, but with our current careers…" He sighed heavily. "I don't feel like I'm doing right by her sometimes."

"I'd like to say things'll work out like I used to," Davis nodded in understanding, "but I think we both know that things aren't what they used to be."

"Thanks for the dose of realism, Davis," Ken said sarcastically, causing Davis to raise an eyebrow again.

"What? Did you need me to say that things'll work out?"

"I…no." Ken turned down an aisle and began to peruse through the vegetables. "No, I don't want to be lied to, but…it's not easy worrying sometimes."

Davis nodded once more. He could understand that. Ever since Tai disappeared he felt like he hadn't been doing his job as a Digidestined. Oh sure, he had become rich and helped out his friends financially, but was that enough? Money didn't find Tai and make all the old war wounds better. Izzy was trying. Izzy was the only one equipped to really do the job.

_Only now he's off in space,_ he thought. He wondered what he was doing now. It occurred to him that he hadn't checked his messages lately – or the news for that matter. _Man… When was the last time I even talked to Catherine?_

"How are you and Catherine doing?" Ken asked, as if reading his mind. Davis gave him a spooked look before shrugging.

"We talk most of the time," he replied. "I can't always visit her though since, you know, she lives in France. She sometimes talks about visiting Japan, but so far…nothing."

"Maybe she's waiting for you to ask her to visit," Ken suggested. Davis frowned.

"I guess…"

"You don't sound like you're that into her."

"I…" Davis' frown deepened. "I guess…I'm just not sure how I feel. You know me, dude. Except for that one girl in middle school…"

"Rumiko, right?" Ken asked. "She's a famous model you know."

"Yeah, I kinda picked up on that since she's one of Sora's friends," Davis said, giving a light laugh. "Anyway, except for her, I haven't really been with anyone else. I'm just not cool like you are, Ken."

"We're not going to have a repeat of that time you tried dressing up as the Digimon Emperor, are we?" Ken asked worriedly. Davis shook his head, laughing.

"Nah, I learned my lesson. Be myself. I'm cool with that." His laugh turned into a rueful chuckle. "I guess I just had my own dose of realism."

Ken nodded, remembering back on those times when Davis seemed to be almost desperate for a girlfriend. Trying to be the Digimon Emperor had been his first attempt, and disastrous, and then there had been the oddity in America when he, Mimi and Willis were trapped in an alternate digital reality by a digimon searching for a partner and wound up being attracted to Davis due to his then-recent rejection by Kari.

"I'll say it then if you won't," Ken smiled. "Things'll work out."

"Jeez Ken…" laughed Davis. "When did _you_ become the optimist?"

"Started with you when you helped bring me back from the darkness," Ken replied, still smiling. "I owe you one."

Wormmon sniffed and ran a claw over one eye to wipe away a tear. "It's times like this that I wish I had a digi-mommy."

**###**

"We're back," Ken called as he, Davis and Wormmon entered the office. "How are thiii…?"

His next sentence died a quiet death as he saw the mess that was once his work space, and what a mess it was. Papers were scattered everywhere. Desk Drawers were open and rutted through. Books that had been alphabetized on the shelf were lying all over the floor, and buried beneath them was DemiVeemon, eyes dazed while he groaned.

"DemiVeemon!" Davis shouted, running over to his partner and throwing the books off of him. "Who did this? What happened? Did that ice digimon show up looking for Calumon? Was it that Renamon?"

"Easy there," Ken said, approaching with worry, but also taking a look around to inspect the office. "There doesn't appear to be any signs of a struggle…"

"No sign of struggle? Ken, are you looking at the same room I am? This place…"

"…is a mess, yes, I know."

"It's going to take all day to clean this up," Wormmon said, bemoaning his fate. "I just dusted this morning, too."

"We'll get it done together buddy," Ken said, patting his partner. "But listen Davis, there wasn't a fight here. No ice damage, so we can rule out the IceDevimon. Besides, if it were him DemiVeemon wouldn't be here." He frowned. "If it were the Renamon, I imagine that there'd be less of a mess, or if there was more damage to the surroundings. This place looks like…someone was searching for something."

"Calumon…" moaned DemiVeemon as Davis picked him up and cradled him in his arms. "I'm sorry… I…I tried…"

"It's okay, DemiVeemon. Just tell us what happened. Who did this?"

The blue digimon swallowed and nodded. "It was…me."

There followed a moment of confusion as all three blinked in surprise.

"Uh…what?"

"Hide and seek…" DemiVeemon continued. "We were playing hide and seek because he was bored and…I went to count to ten and…then went looking for him." He shuddered. "I just started looking through the books when they all fell on top of me."

As one, they all breathed a sigh of relief. _At least we know there wasn't some mob or government agency deciding to look in on us,_ Ken thought before remembering something. "Wait, where _is_ Calumon?"

"Hey, Calumon!" Davis called, standing up. "We're here! We brought food!"

No answer came to them. Davis swore.

"It's okay," Ken said, going over to his computer. "We'll just scan for him and…" He blinked as he hit the on button, only for it to not do its job. He hit it again. "Uh… What's going on?"

"Ken?"

"It's not turning on…"

"I…tried to use it to find Calumon," DemiVeemon admitted. "I…may have pressed a lot of buttons without knowing what they did."

"You're kidding me…" Ken said, feeling as though a great, dark hole had just opened up beneath him. Heck, he _wished_ one would right now. Nothing was worse than this now.

"Hey, we still have our D-3's," Davis said, pulling his out. "It's no big deal." He glanced at the screen as he pressed the button in the center. "Or maybe it is…"

"Nothing?" Ken asked, checking his. "Oh… That's…not good," he continued, seeing his screen return him nothing.

"Ohhh mannn…" Davis groaned. "Okay, it's no big deal. All we have to do is find him again and…"

"He could be anywhere right now, Davis!" Ken cut in. "He's clearly beyond our range now." He scowled. "I hate to do this, but we're going to have to contact one of the kids with the new digivices. Theirs are more advanced than ours. They may be able to find where they are."

"I've got Takato's house number," Davis grinned, fishing out his cell phone. "Let's hope he's there now," he said as he began flipping through his address book.

**###**

Calumon woke up with an abrupt start as down below he heard a bunch of noise. He was confused at first, still caught up in the grips of the Sandman, but he quickly recovered.

_Oh yeah… DemiVeemon's still looking for me._ He giggled and stretched. _I knew it! I'm the best player of hide and seek ever!_

The door to the office burst open and out ran Ken, Davis, Wormmon and DemiVeemon.

"Takato said he'll meet us in the park. Let's go!"

"Wait… _Where_ in the park? Davis…!"

_Oh… Is the game over?_ Calumon wondered, tapping an arm on his chin while his ears receded into his head, becoming depressed. He watched as the four disappeared into the darkness. _I guess it is…_

Heaving a sigh, Calumon spread his ear-wings out and proceeded to fly off. _I guess I'll find someone else to play with…_

He smiled, already forgetting about his new friends. He already knew where he was going to go. Surely _that place_ would make people show up, but he needed to set up the ultimate game first.

**###**

Sora turned over a card, revealing a Garudamon. "Bam," she grinned triumphantly. "It looks like I finally managed to get you this time."

"I don't think so," Rika smirked, turning over her own card, a Control Spire. "It looks like _you're_ the one who's been beat again."

"You are just _too_ good at this," Sora laughed, gathering her cards together. "It's no wonder you won this year's tournament."

"My title isn't all talk. I _earned_ it," Rika said with more than a little pride in her voice.

"Digimon Queen…" Sora's eyes became distant for a moment. "Kind of reminds me of someone I know…"

"I'm not ruling any digimon," Rika said, remembering the history. Sora waved her off with a laugh.

"I wasn't saying you were. It just reminds me of him." She tilted her head to one side. "How do you feel though, being a champion of the card game? Having all those adoring fans."

Rika's hands curled slightly before finally shrugging nonchalantly. "Bored actually," she replied, gathering up her cards and shuffling them together. She never cared for her so-called fans. Only the game mattered, but with her endless string of victories even that became hollow after a while. "There's no one there that's a challenge."

"Sorry to hear that."

Rika shrugged. "It's no big deal. It's not the only thing I occupy my time with. Besides, I've found something better."

"Oh?" Sora raised an eyebrow. "Like what?"

Rika chewed over her lower lip, realizing that she had inadvertently said too much. So she shrugged again. "It's nothing really…"

"Oh?" Sora grinned. "That doesn't sound like nothing. Am I right to guess that there's a boy in all this?"

Rika gave her a dark look that said it all. _Seriously?_ Sora laughed.

"Sorry," she apologized, waving a hand in front of her as if to protect herself from Rika's glare. "I guess things have changed from when I was a kid. Usually when a girl your age said something like that but didn't want to talk about it, it meant that they were in a relationship. You are at the age for that kind of thing you know."

Rika _harrumphed,_ her dark look only lessening a smidge. "Like I said, it's no big deal."

"All right, keep your secrets," Sora conceded. "So what non-secrets do you want to talk about? The night is young."

"Nothing that I care to talk about."

"Rika… You're making it very hard to talk to you." Sora gave a light laugh. "But then, you always were a little 'chatter box'. I remember when you were just a little thing and getting you to talk about your day was like pulling teeth. Except when you sang, the most you would say was 'I ate' or 'I played a game' and that would be it."

Rika blushed at her childhood. "I don't always have to talk you know," she grumbled.

"No, but it's nice to catch up sometimes." Sora placed her deck down. "I've noticed that you have a pretty interesting play style. You're aggressive a lot of the time, but sometimes you like to pull back and let someone make the first attack so they fall right into a trap."

"It's a by-the-book tactic," Rika shrugged. "There's no challenge in pulling that off. Anybody can do it. Or they _would_ if they weren't so stupid."

"Well, at least you're modest," Sora smiled as they both drew new hands. Before the first card could be laid down, the woman's eyes widened. "Oh… I need a timeout first… I'll be right back."

"Uh… Okay."

Getting up from her seat, she winced as she felt her muscles protest due to having been sitting down for so long. She knuckled her back as she eased them back into their assorted jobs of keeping her upright. "I've got to take a break and take care of some lady business. Do you need anything?"

"I can get it if I need it," Rika replied, not meeting the woman's gaze as she looked over her cards. Sora's expression softened a little before nodding. With nothing more to be said, the woman left the room and headed toward the bathroom, her bladder making mild grumblings in the form of the need to pee.

_Could be worse,_ she chuckled quietly to herself, passing through the dining room.

"It's about time," Rumiko said from the table, a wine glass in her hand, a rosy tint to her cheeks. "You were with her for a while."

"I was just catching up with her," Sora replied. "Sorry. I didn't mean to abandon you or anything."

"No need to say you're sorry," Rumiko replied, taking a sip from her wine glass. "If anything, you've made me a bit jealous."

Sora raised an eyebrow as Rumiko filled up the wine glass she had before visiting with the girl and passed it over to her. Against her better judgment in regards to the pressing call of her bladder she accepted it.

"Uh… Sorry?"

"I told you that you don't need to be sorry," Rumiko laughed. "But if you want to make it up to me, you have _got_ to tell me how you do it!"

"Did what?"

"Rika! Honestly, I am at my wit's end with her. I try to talk to her and connect with her, but she never wants to have anything to do with me." Rumiko's face fell as she looked down into her wine glass. "I don't even know if she even has friends and here you go getting her to say that she has a _boyfriend…"_

"She…didn't say that actually," Sora laughed uncomfortably. Rumiko apparently had been listening in and, being a bit tipsy, misinterpreted their conversation. "All she said was that she was doing something she found better than playing the digimon card game."

"It's about time actually…" Rumiko muttered, taking another sip from her glass. Sora frowned slightly, but didn't comment. "She really needed to move on. She has her future to think about."

"Maybe," Sora replied carefully. She didn't completely agree with her, but at the same time, she wasn't wrong.

"Anyway, how did you do it? What you did with her in there…I've been wishing for and she just hasn't let me in." She dug at the tabletop's surface, a depressed look on her face. "I'm a failure as a mother aren't I?"

"Rumiko, I'm not sure I can really give you any advice on that since I'm not a mother, but…all I did was show a little interest in what she did and what her day is like. She opened up on her own. Well…at least a little anyway."

"Still more than what I've been able to do."

_You could do more if you weren't just sitting here drinking,_ Sora thought before berating herself for thinking that way. The whole reason Rumiko was here talking to her right now was because she _didn't_ know how to approach her daughter. "Maybe you should try hanging out sometime. Find something that you can both do together."

"Something we can both do together…" Rumiko said under her breath, still tracing her finger in a circle on the table.

Before either of them could continue, Sora heard an alarm sound off – like a clock beeping – and suddenly Rika was bolting out of her room and toward the gate.

"Heading out!" she called. "Game time!"

"Heading out?" Rumiko asked, flabbergasted. "But it's night! Rika! Come back!"

The girl didn't listen, and within short order the gate opened and closed with a heavy slam, leaving the two adults alone together. Rumiko slumped forward, giving a small cry.

"There she goes again…back to her _game…"_

Reaching out, Sora placed a comforting hand over the woman's wrist, massaging it gently. "She'll be okay," she said, before remembering Biyomon was with Seiko in the living room. Her expression hardened a little.

"I'll be right back."

Withdrawing her hand, she headed toward the living room, once more disregarding her bladder's pleas for relief. Once Biyomon was on her way, _then_ she would answer the call, but until then…

_Oh Rika… Please stay safe…_


	26. Episode 5: Battlefield

"Henry!" called Mayumi – his mother – from down the hall.

"You know, here's the thing I don't understand," piped up Terriermon, looking up from the magazine he held in his tiny paws on the boy's bed. "Why doesn't your mom just spring for a cell phone for you like most parents? Seems really weird that she keeps a landline you know. Especially since, you know, your dad is a big computer genius and makes decent enough money for 'em."

Henry chuckled, stopping at his door. "That's my mom's doing," he said. "Dad and I spend enough time in front of our computers she thinks that if we had phones she'd never see us."

"Your dad has a cell phone."

"For work." Henry pulled the door open. Terriermon laughed.

"Ohhh… So _that's_ why he gives it to your mom when he comes home."

Henry closed the door behind him; muffling Terriermon's giggling and headed over to the kitchen. "Hello?" he asked, taking the phone from his mother. Distractedly, he heard the news coming in from the living room. Something about _V-Pets_ and the president if VP Labs coming out to make a grand announcement. He pushed it out of his mind though, regarding it as unimportant.

_"Henry?"_ came the familiar voice from the other end. _"It's Takato. I…_ we _need your help! Calumon got away from Mr. Ichijouji and they need our digivices to track him down!"_

Henry felt his heart plummet into his stomach. _Now?_ he thought, turning to look at the clock. It was late; the sun having long since set on the city. His mother wouldn't be happy about this and he wasn't too thrilled about the idea of heading out now. He wanted to remind Takato that this Calumon had been out on his own before with seemingly no trouble, but a part of him hesitated to make that point as it would have sounded callous.

The mental image of that girl remained burned into his mind. If _she_ caught him…

Henry closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Okay," he said finally. "I'll meet you at Guilmon's place."

Hanging up the phone, he turned to his mother and offered her an apologetic smile.

"Sorry Mom," he said. "Ken needs my help tonight. Don't wait up for me, I might be a while."

Mayumi frowned, but nodded. "All right," she said. "Be careful. I'll have your food in the microwave for when you get back."

"Thanks, Mom." Heading down the hall back toward his room, Henry wondered, and not for the first time, if she was okay with his being a Tamer and having a digimon partner. He remembered the day he got Terriermon quite well. She hadn't said anything then, except to take his father aside in private, and since then remained quiet on Terriermon's presence in the house.

Still… He _owed_ Ken for helping him with Terriermon. Regardless of how he felt, he needed to help him back.

Pushing open the door, he found Terriermon climbing up onto the chair and firing up his desktop. "Get ready denizens of the digital world…" he began, only for Henry to interrupt him.

"The denizens are going to have to wait," Henry said. "We've got work to do."

**###**

Guilmon's nose twitched and he sat up, blinking blearily at the night sky.

_…Renamon's here?_ he thought, sniffing the air and catching the scent of the vulpine digimon, but try as he might, he couldn't sense her anywhere nearby. Getting up, he walked over to the bars, nostrils flaring as he took in her essence.

_She was here and not too long ago._ Bringing a claw up, he pinched his scales. "Ow! Okay, I'm not dreaming after all… Whatever dreaming is." He remembered Takato using the word, but didn't know what it meant. The important thing however was that his confirmation that this was real.

_Why didn't she attack me? I couldn't have stopped her if she did. Well… I'm just glad she didn't. Maybe that means she doesn't want to fight me anymore?_

He wasn't sure how certain he felt about that, but at the very least this seemed like a good sign. Looking up at the sky, he caught sight of the moon, glowing white with its haunting silvery aura and he stared at it in wonder. It reminded him of Renamo a little, with how she looked at people and moved. It made him sad to think that they had to be enemies at all. He much rather preferred to play. He considered suggesting tag for the next time they met, but he doubted that the end result would be anything he had in mind.

Watching the moon, he tilted his head to one side as he spotted a familiar figure crossing across its surface. It was tiny, but the shape – a large head using ears for wings to fly – was unforgettable. Guilmon had only to sniff the air to confirm his suspicions.

"Calumon!" Guilmon said, inching toward the gate as closely as he could. _Why is he…?_ "Ow!"

Bumping up against the bars, Guilmon backed off and rubbed his nose with his claws. "Ohhh… That's right." He pouted a little. He hadn't seen Calumon all day. He wondered if he found a partner at all. Certainly he and Takato weren't able to do so. He really wanted to know too.

He looked back up at the sky. Calumon's form was at the edge of the moon and rapidly disappearing. A thought occurred to him. Go see Calumon.

_But… But Takatomon wants me to stay in here,_ he thought, remembering the conversation he had with his partner at his school. _I'm supposed to listen to him._

Still, he remembered how concerned Takato had been for Calumon, going so far as to spend the entirety of the day looking for a partner for him. Maybe… Maybe if he found out if Calumon had a partner now he wouldn't be so concerned? At the very least he should make sure he stays out of trouble.

_Renamon's out there with her partner I bet,_ Guilmon thought. _She might try to load his data!_

That sealed his decision, and within short order the gate was ajar, creaking on its hinges as Guilmon sped down the path and into the brush.

**###**

_"Finally!"_ Calumon crowed, coming to a landing in the soccer field. Not wasting any time, he ran over to the tool shed where the chalk grinder lay and tugged on the door. Just as before with last night, it didn't budge. Perplexed, he stood back and looked up and felt dismay hit him. "Oh no… There's _three_ door earrings…"

"Calumon?"

"Huh?" Spinning around, Calumon saw a familiar red dinosaur approaching him. A small smile beamed on his face as he remembered him. "Oh! You're the one with the tickly nose! Hiii!"

"Hey there, Calumon," Guilmon said, approaching him. "I saw you from my home and thought I should check in on you. Takatomon is pretty worried about you. Did you find a partner? We looked all over the place for one but couldn't find any."

"Nope!" Calumon shook his head, not caring in the least. "I was playing a game with some friends, but then they had to go do something, so I'm looking for fun!"

Guilmon glanced up at the shed, tilting his head curiously. "That's fun?"

"It has _awesome_ stuff inside that I can use to make something fun!" Calumon said, turning back to the door. "But they've got door earrings on it that keep me out. Yesterday I had just one and it took me a while to break it off. This time there are _three._ This thing wears _way_ too much jewelry. Who's it trying to impress? Besides, it's only keeping people from getting in."

His ears retracted into his head as he became depressed. "I'll _never_ have fun now…"

Guilmon looked at Calumon and then at the shed, feeling a great deal of sympathy for the diminutive digimon. Turning, he sunk his claws into the dirt and immediately began digging. Hearing this, Calumon turned and cocked a questioning eye. Guilmon, much to his surprise, had made tremendous progress in an extremely short amount of time. Poking his head out of the hole, Guilmon beamed.

"We can dig a tunnel underneath the door!" he grinned before resuming his work. Giving a triumphant squeal, Calumon jumped into the hole after him to help out.

_This is going to be so_ awesome!

**###**

Calumon hopped onto the chalk grinder as Guilmon began to push it over the field, giggling all the way. They zigged and they zagged, forming the beginning of a triangle-shape before connecting the two sides together.

"And don't forget the line that makes you hop like Frogmon the whole game if you cross it!" Calumon laughed as Guilmon drove them onward with his strong, powerful arms.

"Okay! Hold on!" Guilmon shouted, turning a corner and making a curve.

"Whoa!" Calumon cried, clutching tightly onto the chalk grinder before laughing hysterically. Drawing to a halt, Guilmon looked over at their progress.

"Are we all done?" he asked. Calumon shook his head.

"We need a line that makes you crawl around like Wormmon!"

"Yeah!" Guilmon nodded, resuming his labors. Onward they drove, drawing more triangles in the grass, connecting them together in the circle.

"Oh, I'm starting to get dizzy," Calumon laughed, bouncing up and down on the grinder. "I think I'm gonna be sick. This is the most fun _ever!"_

Panting, Guilmon finally began to come to a halt once again, and together the two of them looked out over the field. Calumon smiled.

"Oh… Looks great, Guilmon…" he breathed. The pattern he could see was star-shaped, which just made it look even better.

It was at that moment that the ground in the center of the star design, a spear of shining light shot out from the ground before a thick fog exploded outward, covering the soccer field.

"Oh! What did you do?!" Calumon cried as the fog swept over them.

"Me?!" Guilmon exclaimed in surprise.

**###**

"Oh man, he's gone!" Takato shouted, running out of the concrete bunker. "And I told him like twenty times not to leave!"

"Doesn't matter how many times you tell them if they're not listening," Terriermon remarked from his spot on Henry's shoulder. His partner gave him a sharp look, promising a talking-to later, before returning his attention to Takato.

"Everything will be fine," Henry said, though he worried if that was actually the case, especially with how the other Tamer could get so worked up. "Anyway, you said Ken and Davis would be here, right?"

"Yeah," Takato nodded, his shoulders slumping. It was clear that his thoughts were now anywhere but on why they were there at Guilmon's hideout. "They just…have a long way to walk."

"Sheesh. If this is such a big deal you'd think that they'd digivolve and get here faster," remarked Terriermon. "Oh well. It's just this one little digimon. I'm sure he's fine. I mean, he'd _have_ to be to be out here for so long and not have that girl eat him alive."

"Terriermon…" Henry remarked, seeing Takato freeze up. Apparently he hadn't thought of that.

"Oh man… What if _she_ found Guilmon and…"

"Takato, we don't know that," Henry cut in before he could pursue that train of thought any further. "Look, we can use our digivices to find Guilmon just like we're going to do with Calumon. It'll be all-!"

Just then their digivices let out an alarm. Pulling them out, they quickly activated the compass function and followed the direction of the flashing arrow. Looking up, they spotted a thick soup of fog billowing up toward the sky.

"Um… That's in the direction of the school, isn't it?" Terriermon asked. At that, a light bulb turned on in Takato's head.

_"That's it!"_ he exclaimed, dashing off.

"That's _what?"_ Henry blinked.

"That's where Calumon is! He's the one who vandalized the soccer field. I bet he went there to play!"

There was something else as well. Deep in Takato's heart, he had the strangest feeling that where Calumon was, he would find Guilmon as well. He couldn't explain _how_ he knew this; just that it felt _right._

"Hey, Takato! Wait! What about Ken and Davis?"

But Takato was too far gone to pay attention now, forcing Henry to run after him to keep him in sight.

_Say what you will about him, he can_ move!Henry thought.

**###**

The inky void in the middle of the makeshift pentagram shifted, its appearance flowing so chaotically that Guilmon half-expected to see it boiling.

"Is that the inky void that makes you water like Penguinmon?" he asked, looking at it curiously.

"I don't know," Calumon replied, "but good idea."

Guilmon's ears twitched as he felt something tugging at the corner of his senses.

"Ah!" he said, approaching the digital portal cautiously. "Looks like something's coming!"

Just as silence was no sooner spoken than broken, as if Guilmon's words were a command, a creature jumped free from the portal with a ferocious cry and landed before Guilmon. It had an impish body with a large, permanently open mouth, appearing almost like a demonic monkey in black fur with wings. Bloodshot eyes stared out at its surroundings and quickly latched onto Guilmon and Calumon. It froze upon seeing Guilmon, who was much larger than it was, even crouched now, and quickly jumped back at Guilmon's questing nose.

"Get back hideous creature!" it snapped. "Beware my wrath!"

"Don't be scared," Guilmon tried to soothed, still staying crouched so as to make himself look smaller. "Don't worry, I wouldn't hurt a tiny thing like you."

"I'm _not_ tiny!" the digimon shouted, shaking a fist at him. "I'm a dangerous digimon whose power will make you tremble with fear!"

Guilmon stood up, still not feeling particularly threatened by the creature. "And you're tiny," he observed.

The digimon's blood-red eyes shone, clearly not liking the references to its height. "I'm just overdo for a growth spurt, okay?" Growling as its temper began to climb the charts into the red zone, it rose into the air with a flap of its wings. It was time to show these _hideous creatures_ its power. _"Nightmare Shocker!"_

A beam of spiraling energy shot out from its mouth, causing both Calumon and Guilmon to jump out of the way in surprise. The attack struck the chalk grinder, causing it to explode and disintegrate into thousands of tiny, sparkling shards. Calumon fell to the ground from the shockwave with a cry, just as the digimon landed, laughing maniacally.

"Don't seem so tiny now, huh?" he chortled before rising back into the air. _"Nightmare Shocker!"_ he shouted again, his attack shooting outward. Calumon scrambled to his feet and immediately began running.

**###**

Raidramon bounded down the streets with Davis and Ken on his back before finally entering the park. Within short order they found the park path and followed it all the way to the stairs that led to Guilmon's home.

"I told you it wouldn't be a problem," Davis said, climbing off Raidramon's back.

"Sorry," Ken apologized with a bit of a grin on his face. "I just didn't want you to throw up all over yourself like you did the last time."

"Hey, I'm just out of practice," Davis replied, taking out his digivice and reverting his partner back to his Rookie form as the digi-egg of Friendship shot out of his data and stored itself back into his digivice. "It's been a few years. You really can't blame me for that. It's been way too peaceful at work."

"That's not the only thing that's peaceful," Wormmon remarked, hopping off Ken's shoulder and approaching Guilmon's den. Frowning, Ken quickly joined him, finding the gate standing ajar with no one around.

"That's weird," he began. "Did something happen?"

"Um… Do you think it has anything to do with that digital field over there?" Davis asked, pointing off to his right. Following his outstretched arm, he spotted it.

"I'd say that is more than an answer," Ken began, taking out his black and grey digivice. "Come on. We've got to hurry. This time we'll have Stingmon take us." He glanced at his partner, who nodded. The light of digivolution shone from both digimon and digivice, connecting the two. Wormmon's body elongated, taking on a more humanoid appearance. Finally, the digivolution complete, the light died down, revealing Stingmon in all his splendor.

"All right," Stingmon began, opening his arms for the two humans and Veemon. "We'd better…"

_"Avalanche Claw!"_

At the shout, Stingmon jumped backward while Ken dove to the side, grabbing Davis by his shirt and pulling him down to the concrete, earning him a grunt of surprised pain.

_Better that than dead,_ Ken thought, looking up to see who was attacking them. He didn't see anything as of yet, but a quick look behind him, where they had just been, was a series of glimmering icicles speared into the ground. His eyes narrowed, an idea already forming in his mind.

"Good reflexes," laughed a cold voice as a boot ground on the cold concrete of the hut's roof. Heads snapped up to find a creature wearing tattered leather, snow-white and all but glowing in the light of the moon. Torn wings folded behind him, partially obscured by great, arching horns erupting from his skull, and eyes gleamed a murderous red as a smirk cut a vicious scar across his face. Ken recognized the digimon right away. It was the digimon he and Davis had been hunting for so long now.

The _IceDevimon._

"I love it when my prey shows some resistance," he said, raising his long, vicious-looking claws. "But will you be able to entertain me enough tonight?"

Light shone as Veemon began to pronounce his digivolution.

_"Veemon! Digivolve tooo… ExVeemon!"_

"Goody, goody…" IceDevimon drawled. "Time to fight."

**###**

Takato and Henry arrived at the school, the fence having been closed off. It hadn't been a barrier though, as both of them observed a hole dug beneath it.

"Well that solves that question," Henry said, kneeling down and inspecting the damage. "If Guilmon is in there, he must have followed Calumon inside."

"Right," Takato nodded, grabbing hold of the bars. "And now a digimon is bio-emerging," he grunted, hoisting himself upward. "Guilmon needs our help."

"Right," Henry said, joining him. Already they could hear the sound of explosions coming from the soccer field. Battle had obviously been joined. Henry felt himself tense up, remembering their most recent battles with digimon.

_Am I going to have to digivolve Terriermon this time?_ he wondered, his arms beginning to shake. He forced the fear down. He couldn't afford to think about that now. If he lost himself to fear, he was as good as dead. They _all_ were.

**###**

Rika arrived across from the school just in time to see Takato and Henry begin climbing the gate. Drawing to a halt, she narrowed her eyes, wondering what to do in this situation now that these two were involved.

"Shall we fight them?" Renamon asked, materializing next to her. Rika shook her head.

"Not yet," she said simply. "Let's let them tire each other out first and see what they do."

Renamon nodded as she watched the two boys and Terriermon hop down the fence and go running off into the fog. She briefly wondered where Guilmon was, though the hole in the ground suggested he had arrived there long before they did.

_It's a good idea,_ Renamon thought. _This battle will help provide us with information on their tactics and experience. It will help make them easier to defeat._

Exchanging a look, Renamon took Rika into her arms and together they vanished into thin air.

**###**

The demonic digimon laughed viciously as it chased after Calumon.

"Why are you picking on me?" Calumon asked, looking over his shoulder. "Guilmon's the one who insulted you!"

"Hey!" exclaimed the dinosaur digimon, stopping dead in his tracks.

"I don't care," the demon digimon laughed. Light glowing around his hands, he tossed energy spikes down at Calumon. _"Demon Darts!"_

Picking up speed, Calumon wove and dodged, managing to avoid most of the _Demon Darts_ attack, however he accidently ran into the explosive radius of the last shot, knocking him to the ground. Laughing upon seeing his prey helpless, the digimon dove toward him…

_That's enough!_ Guilmon thought, rescinding his earlier claim that he wouldn't hurt such a tiny digimon. His pupils dilated and red light glowed in the back of his throat. Rearing backward, he spat a crimson fireball at their assailant. _"Pyro Sphere!"_

"Hey!" the digimon shouted, just barely managing to dodge the burning fireball as it arched downward, the attack not having enough force to reach him. Guilmon growled, his claws tensing.

_If only Takatomon were here…_

"Calumon! Guilmon!" came the voice of Takato, causing the digimon's spirits to brighten. Turning, he saw his partner running toward him, accompanied by Henry and Terriermon.

"Who is that?" Terriermon asked as Henry took out his digivice and activated its scanning functions.

"Vilemon," he read. "Champion level. Nasty little thing."

"He's got an advantage in the air," Takato said, pulling out a card from his pocket. "Here! This'll even out the playing field! _Digi-modify!"_ Slashing it through the card slot of his digivice, sparks flew and Guilmon felt energy flow through him. _"Hyper-Wing activate!"_

Six pairs of glowing wings sprung up from Guilmon's back. His spirits were now no longer just bright; they were soon to _soar._

"Get him!" Takato commanded.

"Right!"

With that, Guilmon flew toward Vilemon, whose eyes bulged in their sockets at this unexpected turn of events. Taking aim, red light burned in the back of his throat as he tried once again.

_"Pyro Sphere!"_

The fireball shot out at Vilemon, who quickly ducked downward at full speed, barely managing to dodge the attack once more. This time however, in his panic and speed, he crashed headlong into the ground, causing stars to explode across his vision.

"Not so easy now that Guilmon can fly too, huh?" Takato called as Vilemon forced himself to recover. Guilmon was already coming in for a landing and would soon be on him.

"Aw nuts!" Vilemon growled, crossing his arms. He wasn't out yet. As strong as Guilmon was, he wasn't done yet. After all, he was just a Rookie; not a Champion.

"Terriermon, it's your turn!" Henry said, taking out a card of his own and quickly slashing it through his digivice. _"Digi-modify! Speed activate!"_

"I'm on it!" Terriermon exclaimed, putting on a sudden burst of speed as he rushed Vilemon. So great was the cards effect that he crossed the distance just as Vilemon finished pronouncing his attack. Jumping up, he slammed his horned head into Vilemon, knocking him back down and causing his _Nightmare Shocker_ attack to go wide, missing its mark. Nonetheless, the group ducked down as it blew over them, feeling the wind of its passing. As fast as Terriermon had been, it remained a close call.

"Are you okay?" Calumon asked, running up to Guilmon as he got back up. Terriermon jumped in front of the pair and assumed a defensive stance. Vilemon had again recovered quickly and was back in the air, laughing as if he hadn't been dealt a blow at all.

"Have you had enough yet, fools?"

"Hurry up," Henry urged, as Takato fanned through his cards, uncertainty warring on his face.

"I can't decide…" Takato's hands hesitated over one card before moving over to another, hesitating yet again. What card would help them? Would any of them? Either way, Vilemon wasn't going to wait. Rearing back, his hands began to glow.

_"Demon…"_

**###**

Rika watched the battle unfold with a mixture of fascination and disgust. The two boys weren't… _terrible,_ as much as she hated to admit it. Upon entering the field they surveyed the situation and made good calls to combat the Vilemon; the use of the Hyperwing, however temporary its effects were, leveled the playing field while Henry offered a quick counter offensive to keep Vilemon off balance. Unfortunately they failed to capitalize on their early successes, particularly when Terriermon dropped back to defend Guilmon, who didn't bother to continue his attack against Vilemon when he was down.

The end result had turned the fight into a war of attrition, and between them the Champion had far more durability to overcome.

_This is ridiculous,_ she thought, stepping out of the fog and into combat range. _Let's do this, Renamon… It looks like we're going to have to clean this mess up._

**###**

_"Demon…"_

"Yeah right," Rika's voice interrupted as she came to a halt, causing the Vilemon to hesitate and turn toward her surprised by yet another interruption. "You're too tiny to bother with, but a fight's a fight." Raising a hand toward the vulpine digimon standing off to her side, arms crossed over her chest, she spoke the only word that she needed to know they were joining the battle. "Renamon?

Vilemon looked a bit confused, but saw the Renamon assume a combat stance all the same. He laughed, accepting this offer of challenge.

"I hate to beat up on a girl, but if you insist…!"

With that, Vilemon dove forward, his mouth glowing as he prepared to attack. Taking out a card, Rika smirked, slashing it through her digivice. She was going to show her fellow Tamers how to _really_ fight a wild digimon.

_"Digi-modify! Clone activate!"_

_"Nightmare Shocker!"_ Vilemon shouted, shooting another spiraling energy blast at Renamon. Rika smirked again as the attack struck where Renamon stood, her body disappearing.

"Yes," she said under her breath. Her enemy had done exactly what she wanted him to do.

"Ha!" Vilemon crowed, pumping his fist into the air. "Gotcha!"

"The only thing you've got is a serious case of the uglies," Rika derided, pointing up at the sky. "Look behind you."

Craning his gaze skyward, Vilemon felt his heart drop into his stomach as he saw Renamon hovering directly above him, arms crossed and a light forming in front of her.

"Uh oh…"

_"Diamond Storm!"_ the vulpine digimon shouted. Slashing her arms outward, thousands of glowing crystals spread outward and shot down at Vilemon, imbedding themselves in his body before he could even move to escape. Data shattered and broke apart, his dying screams interrupted as he completely dissolved into thin air. Glowing herself, Renamon rose into the air, drawing the data into her, absorbing it. Off to the side, Takato, Henry, Terriermon and Guilmon all watched in amazement and shock at what they had just seen. Takato's mouth fell open as the full ramifications of Renamon's actions hit home.

_She didn't think twice about absorbing him,_ he thought, remembering their first encounter in the park and then later in the parking garage. _This… This could have been Guilmon…_

The glow surrounding Renamon vanished as she finished absorbing Vilemon's data, and she set back down on the field. She flexed her claws, feeling the Champion's data working through her. _Am I stronger now?_ she wondered. She furrowed her brow slightly, not feeling particularly different. Instead she felt…strangely… _empty._

"Don't bother with any thanks," Rika spoke up to Takato and the others, her eyes hard. "I did it for the data and that's all."

"Data…?" Takato asked, finding his voice again. It came out sounding more than a little angry – no _furious –_ as Rika looked at him in surprise.

"Huh?" she blinked. He was glaring at her…this stupid kid who couldn't figure out how to best help his partner in the middle of a battle. She had received plenty of angry looks in the past, but this was the first one that caught her attention. There was something in those eyes that was more than just anger. Something… Something she had no name for. She…

_Pink feathers… A laugh… Biyomon…_

"Digimon are living creatures!" Takato continued, his voice taking on an unexpected intensity. "And you… _kill them!"_

_Kill._ Rika's head dropped slightly, feeling a pang of guilt making itself known in her heart. The word was heavy, and full of a great many emotions. Again the image of Biyomon floated through her mind and she glanced up at the two boys.

"He's right," Henry added as Terriermon climbed up onto his shoulder. She settled her gaze on Takato, feeling his anger directed at her. She felt her body tense up in response.

"Hmmm… No," she replied coldly, as though she were deciding something. "Digimon are nothing more than data. Renamon?" Looking at her partner, words unspoken flowing between them, she turned around to leave…only for Rika to stop as she felt something grab hold of her foot.

"Huh?" she gasped, looking down to see the tiny digimon as it snuggled against her ankle. She gasped, her heart suddenly thumping in her chest as it pulled back, revealing big, green eyes that just shone with happiness.

"Hi!" Calumon chirped, his ears expanding gleefully at the sight of a potential new friend. "Wanna play?"

A small noise – a noise she heard her mother and grandmother make when confronted with something small and cute that caught them by surprise – escaped the girl's lips. _What… What is this digimon?_ It didn't look like anything she had seen before. It wasn't a digimon that could fight that was for sure. It was… She couldn't find the words for it. She…

"Hey!" Takato shouted, breaking her out of her daze. "Don't you touch him!"

Rika _harrumphed,_ feeling her ego rise up once again. Still, looking down at Calumon with an odd expression on her face, confused by what she was seeing and the emotions running through her, she backed away and gave Calumon wide berth before resuming leaving.

"Come on, Renamon," she said. "Why would I want to waste my time with these _Goggleheads?"_

"Yeah?" Takato snapped back. "Well… _good riddance!"_ Crossing his arms over his chest, Takato huffed angrily. "What's her deal?" he asked, more to himself than anyone else.

The angry, tense atmosphere didn't stop Calumon though. Flinging his tiny arms up, he laughed. _"Finally,_ a little fun!"

"Huh?" This from everyone as Calumon started bouncing away.

"Wait!" Takato called, starting to chase after him. "It's dangerous out there by yourself!"

"It's dangerous here with you too!" Calumon called back. "And there must be more people out there more fun than you! Goodbye Guilmon!"

With another hop and a skip, Calumon's ear-wings caught the air and he flew away, quickly disappearing into the night. Takato's pace ground to a halt and he looked helplessly at Henry.

"I… Henry!"

"He's a strange little digimon," Henry shrugged, approaching the other Tamer with a sympathetic smile. "I've never seen anything like him. I don't know if he even _wants_ a Tamer."

"Or how long the Tamer would survive," Terriermon added.

Takato's eyes dropped sadly, realizing that in the end nothing was accomplished and that he had failed Ken and Davis. This whole day and night had been nothing but a wash.

"You gonna be okay?" Henry asked, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah…" Takato sighed. He didn't _feel_ okay, but everyone was fine and that girl didn't stick around to fight them. So…maybe there was some good to come out of this?

_How could she so easily murder digimon?_ he wondered. _I just don't understand…_

**###**

IceDevimon pulled back as the two digimon charged him once more, ExVeemon laying into him with punch after punch that he just barely managed to dodge, while Stingmon flanked him, managing to skewer him in the ribs with his _Spiking Strike_ attack. Growling in pain as their combined efforts began to take their toll, the frozen digimon grabbed hold of Stingmon and tore him free from his torso before slamming him into ExVeemon. The two Champions plummeted into the park, smashing into a tree and causing it to shatter.

The two didn't stay down for very long. Indeed, things were just about to get worse for IceDevimon. The light of evolution surrounded them as they both struggled to their feet, merging together.

_No!_ IceDevimon's mind shouted, realizing what was going on. _They're DNA-Digivolving!_

_"ExVeemon!"_

_"Stingmon!"_

The two voices spoke as one as the light intensified, forcing IceDevimon to shield his eyes lest he be blinded.

_"DNA-Digivolve tooo…Paildramon!"_

The light died down, and where two digimon stood, now one remained, a now Ultimate level with the combined features of both. A dragon's body wearing insect armor. IceDevimon flapped his wings uncertainly. Although he now held type advantage over the Ultimate, the level difference was too great, and he knew from the reports of the Digidestined that this wasn't even the totality of their power. _Mega_ lay just one evolution call away.

He glanced behind him, seeing the digital field dissipate.

_I think I've delayed them long enough now…_ he thought before returning his attention to Paildramon. Twin cannons unslung themselves from his waist and were now aimed in his direction.

"Under the authority of the Japanese government in accordance with the Digital Life Forms Act," Paildramon began, the two voices of ExVeemon and Stingmon blending together, "I hereby place you under arrest."

"Another time," IceDevimon smirked. With that, a digital field materialized around him, and he vanished out of sight.

"Great…" Paildramon cursed under his breath, lowering his weapons. _So close…_


	27. Episode 6: O Partner, Where Art Thou?

The dawn of the new day greeted Rika as she woke up in her futon. Rolling over onto her side, she curled up for a brief moment before stretching, sprawling outward and relishing the feel of her muscles as they sprang awake. Getting out of her futon she brushed her hair out of her eyes and began to gather her things for school. Her uniform and bag were all set up in the corner of her room in a haphazard fashion, unlike her usual day clothes which laid out with care.

Sighing, she took her uniform and began to undress. She hated school and hated its uniforms…hated a great many things. Well, _hate_ was too strong of a word for how she felt, but she liked the way it described her feelings all the same. It felt easier to vent that way toward the things she couldn't control in her life.

_Stupid skirts,_ Rika thought, pulling on her uniform's shirt and patting it down. She was almost done. All that was left were her school shoes and then…

"Rika! Are you awake?"

Raising a scarlet eyebrow, she turned in the direction of her mother's voice. "I'm just getting done with dressing, _mother,"_ she said, her tone adding that just-right touch of annoyance. Her mother didn't appear to hear it though as the door to her room slid open and the woman stuck her head in, a smile on her face.

"Just checking to see if you're up. I didn't want us to be late for _Parent's Day_ after all."

"Yeah…" Rika nodded, picking up her school bag and heading over to the door, pushing it all the way open now so she could get out. Rumiko stepped to the side, still smiling.

"I'm so excited," Rumiko chirped, following along after her. "I missed it last year because of the photo shoot, so I'm very eager to see what you do there, and meet all the friends you have…"

_I don't have any friends,_ Rika thought, her expression blank as she padded down the hallway to where her school shoes were located. _I don't need any friends. And I don't need you to be there either._

Yet, for some reason, Rika found that she couldn't muster up that much annoyance toward her mother's excitement about being with her.

_I must be tired still,_ she thought, stopping by the main entrance to grab her things.

"Don't you want something to eat?" Rumiko asked, seeing this. "Mom's in the kitchen. She can fix you something if you're hungry."

"I'm okay," Rika said, slipping her shoes on. "I just want to get going."

_The sooner this is over with, the better…_

Exiting the house, Rika had only to look to see her partner vanish into a nearby tree, her movements so quick that no one but herself – used to tracking the vulpine digimon as she was – could follow her. Rika smiled, glad to know that she was still there…that none of this was a dream. Renamon may be just data, but her presence was…

Rika quickly brushed the emotion aside, not wanting to dwell on it. In her mind's eye, she already saw that goggle-wearing boy and his friend from last night, looking coldly at her and calling her a murderer just because she destroyed a wild digimon. A wild digimon that had scant seconds ago been trying to _kill them!_

_Stupid Gogglehead…_ Rika thought, berating the memory of the ungrateful boy. Although she didn't care for receiving any thanks, the least he could do was show _some_ kind of appreciation for her intervention. His indecision at a crucial moment in the battle had nearly gotten himself, his partner, and their friends hurt…

"Rika?" Rumiko asked, running down the path, having snagged her purse and thrown on a jacket. Rika paused and blinked at her in surprise. She hadn't realized that she had started without her.

"Sorry," she apologized, becoming a bit embarrassed that she let that wannabe-Tamer occupy her thoughts. She resisted the urge to grind her teeth together. The way he had spoken to her…

"It's okay," Rumiko smiled, brushing at her jacket – some puffy, white and purple thing that she probably swore was all the rage nowadays – before falling into step beside her. "You must be pretty excited too. Hey, maybe after school we can hang out together. What do you say?"

Rika resisted the urge to groan in exasperation. Today looked to already be off to a bad start.

**###**

"First it's chalk! Now it's chalk and holes! I'm about ready to pave this field over with _concrete!"_

"We already _have_ a parking lot."

"You _can_ be replaced you know…"

The day was off to a bad start, at least for the principal of Shinjuku elementary. Unlike many of the students and teachers who were all rushing toward the scene that was causing such commotion from the man, Takato and Henry were in no particular rush to get there.

_Once was enough,_ Takato thought, though he couldn't help but find the principal's reaction a little bit funny, his voice managing to drown out the discussion between students as they tried to figure out what had actually happened. Yuji, Jeremy and Tadashi were already hard at work on that score, throwing out whatever they could like fresh paint on a canvas and seeing what stuck.

"Do you think it's a housing complex for low income gofers?"

"Be serious! I bet it's a prank by the soccer team! All the lifting and throwing must have jarred their brains!"

"It was _alien ghosts!"_

"Alien ghosts _and_ gnomes that travel through time!"

"Do you _hear_ those guys?" Terriermon asked from his spot on Henry's shoulder, flabbergasted. "And I thought you had to _lie_ to get _that_ creative."

"You know at this rate they probably wouldn't believe us if we told them the truth," Takato chuckled, leaning over toward Terriermon, one hand covering his mouth in a conspiratorial fashion.

"I know," Henry returned, giving a nervous laugh. "Well, let's just be glad that this is what they're coming up with. I'd hate to think of what would happen if they knew that digimon were behind it."

"Well why don't they?" Terriermon asked, flapping his ears a little. "I mean, no one has actually _seen_ a gnome, but digimon? Plenty of us around and we fit the bill better anyway when it comes to make-believe. We'd be pretty easy to blame."

"How about we just be glad that no one is thinking to blame digimon?" came the voice of Gatomon from behind them. Turning in surprise, they both saw Ms. Kamiya and Gatomon taking in the scene in front of the crowd. Kari's expression was a portrait of worry.

"Ah!" Takato exclaimed. "Ms…Ms. Kamiya! I…we…"

"Ken and Davis told me about last night," she interrupted. "You two fought a Vilemon."

"Well, us and that girl, only for once she was helping instead of trying to kill us," supplied Terriermon. "Maybe she's starting to cool off a bit because of the heat?"

"That…doesn't make any sense," Gatomon said, cocking her head to one side at the long-eared digimon. Terriermon giggled.

"I aim to _not_ make sense, thank you! Momentai, Gatomon! Everything's all right!"

"It sure didn't sound that way from how Ken told the story," Gatomon said, placing her paws on her hips. "And from what I can see between everyone's legs, it sure didn't _look_ like everything's all right."

"You know, between the two of us, you're the only one who got involved in a fight that leveled a TV studio. I like to think that in terms of scale, my impact on the world is a lot better."

Gatomon bristled at that jab, but before she could say anything, Henry reached up and rapped his partner on the side of his head.

"Be a good digimon," he said. "Let's not get into any fights this soon after last night."

"How about we all get to class," Kari suggested. "We can talk about this later." Giving a loud whistle, all students turned toward her. "All right everyone! Let's go! I'm sure the police would like to investigate the scene without everyone here. Come on now…"

There followed a great moan from the student body, but they did as they were told and were soon filing back in the direction of the school, leaving only the distraught principal standing in front of the destroyed soccer field, his head hanging in agony.

"Why me…?" he groaned.

**###**

Takeru flipped through the report in front of him, his expression neutral.

"Is there anything else?" he asked, looking up at Ken, who sat across from him.

"For the time being, yes," Ken nodded regretfully. "My equipment met with an unfortunate incident while pursuing another case, so until that's sorted out, that is about all I can provide you. But Hypnos has the technology – technology that is better and still operates – to confirm this report."

"I do," Takeru replied, closing the folder and setting it on his desk. "Thank you, Ichijouji, that will be all."

Getting up with a nod, Ken left Takeru's office and closed the door behind him with a click.

"So what did he say?" Davis asked, leaning against the wall beside the door. Beside him were also Veemon and Wormmon, looking up in concern.

"Nothing that would make you happy," Ken said. Davis scowled.

"So 'nothing' is what he's going to do?"

"He didn't say he would do nothing."

"It doesn't sound like he'll do 'something' either."

Ken sighed. "This is why I didn't want you in there. You would have only started a fight."

"And we can't have that," Wormmon added, pointing a clawed appendage at the other man. "Like it or not, we _need_ Takeru."

"Only because of last night," Davis said. Below, Veemon blanched, remembering his role in the events that caused their computer to crash. Wormmon wasn't having any of this as an excuse however.

"No, we'd still need him regardless! He has more authority than we do! He has more resources! At best we're a civilian operation working on the ground level. Hypnos has eyes and ears in places we don't, and we _need_ that."

"So why aren't we working for Hypnos then?" Davis asked, giving Ken and Wormmon a critical look. While he didn't like the idea of working for suits, or even wearing suits, the fact that they were operating with so little resources seemed to hurt their cause more than help.

"It's…complicated," Ken sighed, starting down the hallway. The trio behind him looked at each other in confusion before following after him.

"Like that tells us a lot," Veemon said. "Why not start at the beginning?"

"I'll give you the short form instead," Ken replied. "I had concerns about the amount of control that the government would have over the regulation of digimon affairs in the real world and bio-emergences. Politicians have a habit of being reactionary these days and the war left them all very edgy about their positions. Some wanted to 'look tough'; set an example. Some things were understandable, but I wasn't too keen on the idea of digimon being treated as second-class citizens. They're supposed to be our friends. Our partners. I just don't believe we're going to solve any problems with the digital world by keeping them at arm's length with one hand and holding a gun in the other."

"Hmmm…" Davis pressed his lips together as they approached an elevator. Hitting the call button he looked back in the direction of Takeru's office. "I wonder how he sleeps at night."

"I bet he doesn't sleep at all," said Veemon. "That would explain a lot, wouldn't it?"

"How about we keep the nasty cracks to a minimum," Ken suggested as the elevator door dinged, announcing its arrival. "At least until we're out of here."

"Then let's hurry up," Davis said, stepping inside. The others quickly followed suit, and within short order the doors closed, shutting Takeru's office off from Davis' glare.

**###**

"Rainforests are critical to the survival if this planet and yet they are being destroyed worldwide at an alarming rate. In fact in the one hour we spend together today, about 1200 acres of this most precious resource, will be have been completely decimated…"

The day wore on for Rika as the teacher droned on, marching along the aisles. She didn't bother taking down notes as her fellow classmates did. She knew the material backwards and forwards by now, and it mostly bored her. Heaving a sigh, she turned her pencil box sitting on her desk and craned its mirror so she could see the back. Her mother was standing with the other parents, easily standing out amongst them due to her clothes being of the more fashionable brand.

_She sure caused quite the stir just by being here,_ Rika thought, remembering how her classmates had reacted. Some had thought they were actually _sisters_ , and _all_ of them just _gushed_ about how beautiful Rumiko looked.

_Sickening…_

Spotting that Rika had maneuvered the mirror to catch sight of her, Rumiko smiled and waved, but no sooner did she do so that the sound of her cell phone ringing brought it up short. Looking down at her purse in embarrassment, she, as discretely as she could, rushed out of the classroom. Not so far away however that Rika could not hear the hushed replies to whomever it was that called at this inconvenient time.

"Hello, this is Makino. When's the shoot? _Now?!_ Ah! Uh…" She glanced into the room with an alarmed, hesitant expression. Rika began a countdown in her mind as a prediction quickly formed. "No, no problem. It's fine. I'll be right there."

The next sound Rika heard was her mother's rapid footsteps as she raced down the hall. Rika sighed and turned her attention back to the teacher, who continued with his droning, only on a different topic now.

"I'd like to thank the parents and family members who joined us today because the only way we…"

Rika slammed her pencil box closed, having had enough.

**###**

The school day couldn't have ended soon enough for Rika as she made her way home on her own. Her pace was slower than usual though, where before she would have been eager to get out of her school clothes and out on patrol for a wild digimon – maybe even see about fighting one of the two wannabe-Tamers (though her interest in loading their data had waned) – but not this time. She stared ahead of her, her eyes hard and angry.

_Why does my mother always have to do that?_ Rika wondered, thinking back to when her mother just abruptly ran out on her. _Whatever. Like I care what anybody thinks anyway._

She clenched her hand tightly around her bag's strap. Her mother always seemed to feel like her thoughts on anything she did were important. Just like she had done last year as Rika was preparing for the latest Digimon card tournament. She was a two-year winner now, but her first medal was pinned on her wall. Did her mother know?

No.

**###**

_"What's that?" Rumiko asked, looking over Rika's shoulder as the girl flipped over a card with a Renamon emblazoned on it. It was one of the newly released cards, and she tapped into its potential, discovering that it held a far greater well than anything the Agumon or Gabumon lines held._

_"Nothing," Rika replied, focused on her practice. Already she could feel her mother passing judgment on her._

_"They look like tarot cards, only with digimon," Rumiko smiled, setting herself down beside her daughter. "Have you become a fortune teller?"_

_"Yeah right," Rika replied, half in disgust at her mother's ignorance. She made enough noise about the tournament both last year and this year where the woman_ should _have known what she was doing. She practiced the game regularly._

_Then again, her mother often seemed to not pay attention to things that didn't interest her. She had her world, and Rika her own that was completely separate._

_"Well whatever it is, at least you're interested in something," Rumiko continued. "When I was your age I didn't have the luxury of playing little card games. I was already hard at work."_

_"Mm…hm." It took everything Rika had to not snap back at her mother. Playing little card games?_ Playinglittle card games?

_Getting up, Rumiko folded her arms behind her head. From the corner of her eye, Rika thought of her as some kind of bell in her getup. "You might want to start thinking about what you want to do with your life."_

_"Mm hm," Rika simply replied, her interest in this conversation dropping to absolutely zero and just wanting her to go away. If she couldn't see what this meant to her, she didn't want to talk to her about it any longer._

_"Well, fame and fortune awaits," Rumiko finished, finally leaving. Rika breathed a sigh of relief, finally left alone to prepare for the tournament in solitude._

**###**

_I know what I want to do with my life, but she'd never understand. A little card game? Huh! Taming digimon is a lot more respectable than modeling. Besides, I'm good at it! I don't need her approval!_

Her mother would never understand anything, she felt. She didn't understand her father after all. She wondered if that was why he went to the digital world. To get away from her and explore that world and all its alien mysteries… Compared to her mother and the life she had, having no greater desire than to look pretty on some poster and talk endlessly about shopping, Rika doubted he needed little convincing or tempting to leave.

Catching sight of a spire of sparkling particles rising like a tower into the air, Rika turned to see a dense fog beginning to form around it. A small grin formed across her face.

"Whoa…" she breathed excitedly. "Time for me to go to work."

With that she broke into a run for home.


	28. Episode 6: The Heart that Beats Cold

Seiko Hata took a sip from her tea. The house was quiet and empty – Sora having gone home and back to work, unwilling to just sit around waiting for news about her husband. However, to her, the silence was an illusion.

_Rika… A Tamer,_ she thought, remembering the conversation she had with the longtime Digidestined. _And the digital world may be developing a new threat looking to attack us…_

Another sip. Up until this point, she believed that her eyes were playing tricks on her – at her age she couldn't rely on them the way she used to, and this house always tended to be a bit…strange when it came to shadows. Nothing terrible, but there were times she would turn down a hall and swear she saw something move, only to find nothing. This had been the way of things for as long as she lived, and her daughter knew that equally well. Yet she sensed no evil; only the comfort of hearth and home.

The situation with Rika becoming partnered with a digimon changed nothing about that, save for her own personal anxieties, as she should be – as any grandparent would be about the safety of their grandchild. Still, precautious was prudent as she couldn't depend on her instincts alone, so she hunted around the house – casually of course, going about her business as she always did so as to not alert the digimon should they be there – searching for any sign of the creature, turning up nothing.

Seiko wasn't sure if she should feel comforted by the lack of evidence.

_Kitsune's are difficult to pin down,_ she thought in bemusement, remembering the description Biyomon gave. What had she called it? No… Not Biyomon. _Sora_ named it, based on a card Rika used in her game. _Renamon._

_The universe seems to be full of irony,_ she thought with a light chuckle, taking another sip of tea before looking up at one of her vase. _Oh dear,_ she thought, getting up. _It looks like there's some pruning to be done still…_

It was at that moment that she heard the sudden rush of feet running through the front yard and into the house, pausing only just long enough for said feet to do away with a pair of shoes.

"Hi Grandma, I'm home!" came a quick greeting as a small, lithe figure dashed by her open door.

"Rika? Is that you?" Seiko called out, turning in the direction of the voice. Of course it was her. No one she knew greeted her in that capacity, and she strongly doubted that any robbers would be so courteous even though she had left the front gate open.

Besides, a quick glance at the clock was enough to indicate that such was the case. Although a minute late, Rika had the tendency to be punctual when it came to arriving home.

**###**

Rika raced the circuit of her house's porch all the way to her room, ducking inside and tossing her school bag to the floor without so much as a care for it. Her school uniform followed in short order as she donned her usual clothes. Strapping her belt on, she clipped her digivice to the side – a feeling so comfortable and normal that she barely thought about it anymore – and looked behind her, already feeling those blue eyes that belonged to her partner watching her from the shadows.

"Ready, Renamon?" she asked.

"Always," came the reply. Rika nodded.

"Party time."

"And _we're_ the entertainment," Renamon said, vanishing once more into the shadows. Grinning, Rika ran back outside and traced her path back to where her regular shoes were kept. Passing by her grandmother, who was back to sitting at her table, drinking tea again, she called out in once more.

"I'm going out for a little while!"

Seiko looked up, eyes widening slightly in surprise. "But honey, you just got home," she began to protest, only to catch herself. Surely there wasn't any harm in letting her go out, was there? There never had been before, so why now?

_She has her partner to look after her after all… If this digimon were a danger to her, wouldn't something have happened sooner?_

So many questions, so few answers.

"Well, make sure you're back by dinner time."

Rika sat herself down on the stoop, Sinking her feet into her shoes and lacing them up in quick succession. "Don't worry Grandma," she replied. "I will. What are we having anyway?"

"My special egg plant and liver casserole," Seiko sang back with a smile as Rika stood up. A smile crossed the girl's face as she pumped a fist in excitement. A perfect way to celebrate the day's battle.

"Terrific."

**###**

The air in the concrete hut was thick with tension as Takato, Henry, Guilmon and Terriermon all stared at each other, their expressions grim yet full of determination.

Every action received a reaction. Life meant death; victory meant defeat, and where there was defeat, death and despair assuredly followed. Whether it was in battle or a game, it was a contest of wills; a contest of intelligence. To survive – to _win_ – meant being smarter than your opponent; to outwit them. Should one expect to live a life of peace and prosperity, there was no reason to live by this philosophy. However, they were Tamers and digimon partners. Even before then, they were digimon and human. Born into a world of savagery where only the strongest and cleverest survived.

_"Ready…set…"_ they began as one, drawing back their fists. This was it. All the preparation, mental and physical, would be tested here and now. A loser would be decided, one or more, and a victor declared. There could only be one. Only one who could win…

…a Rock, Paper and Scissors match.

_"Go!"_

All four of them thrust their hands into the center of the quartet. Takato, Henry and Terriermon displayed two fingers extended outward while the rest were curled inward – the universal symbol for _scissors –_ while Guilmon had all three claws extended and flat, the symbol for paper.

_"And scissors cuts paper!"_ Takato, Henry and Terriermon cried in unison, Henry laughing as he pointed a finger up toward the roof in triumphant glee. Guilmon looked back and forth between the three, looking shaken, unable to ascertain how he could have lost. Undaunted, the other three prepared again, forcing Guilmon's mind to think quickly and join them. Maybe this time… _this time…_ surely…

_"Ready…set… Go!"_

…only for there to be a repeat of the last time as Guilmon thrust paper against three scissors.

_"Everyone wins but Guilmon!"_

Guilmon's mind was awhirl with uncertainty and emotional confusion. Unable to keep up, he fell backward with a great cry.

"Not your game, huh buddy?" Takato chuckled before everyone burst into laughter at his antics.

"I'll play for your peanut butter next time," Terriermon quipped.

While all very amusing to the trio, the whole thing had been Henry's idea so as to help train Guilmon for battle. However, since he was newborn, they weren't sure what training method would be appropriate, especially since the martial arts weren't exactly useful for his body type, and chess might be too complex to start with.

Still, they had to start somewhere, so simplicity was felt to be the best place to begin, and so it was that Rock, Paper and Scissors was decided upon; the gateway to the Art of War.

_I don't like it,_ thought Henry, watching Guilmon recover. _But after last night's battle with Vilemon and with that girl and Mephistomon still out there, we can't afford to depend on luck to get by. Guilmon has to be ready. His life depends on it._

As if to drive the point home, Guilmon suddenly sat up, his eyes dilating as he snarled. Terriermon, although his reaction was far less visual, was no less powerful, looking around with a gasp.

"What's wrong?" Henry asked.

"Another digimon just appeared, I can feel it!" Terriermon replied, his voice urgent.

Appeared. Bio-emerged. This meant only one thing. It was time to fight.

_Or not,_ Henry thought – or rather _hoped._ Before he could say or do anything, Guilmon surged to his feet and raced toward the exit.

"Hey!" Takato called out, only for his partner to ignore him.

_No choice now…_ Henry thought, all three of them chasing after the dinosaur digimon now.

**###**

Rika pulled free from the thick fog of the digital field and took off her sunglasses, finding Renamon already ahead of her and in a battle position. Before them, a large shadow with glowing eyes loomed forth, and quickly revealed itself to be a giant, dinosaur-type digimon with blue scales and feathers springing from its skull.

_Oh yeah…_ Rika thought, eagerly while she watched the digimon roar, the ground shaking as it stomped forward.

"Bring it on," Renamon said, not in the least bit intimidated by the wild digimon's show of bravado. This was a story she had seen scores of times already. The first move by a wild digimon was nearly always open intimidation. Nothing more than sound and fury signifying nothing.

Raising her digivice, Rika did a quick analysis of the digimon so as to formulate what tactics she would need. "Allomon, an Armored dinosaur type," she read. She grinned, glancing up. "Let's see if his Dino-Burst attack has any real bite to it. Walk all over him."

"My _pleasure!"_ With that, Renamon flipped up into the air and smashed a foot into Allomon's snout, somersaulting back down as the digimon cried out in pain. Taking advantage of this momentary stun, she jumped back up to continue her attack. No sooner did she leap did her instincts suddenly begin screaming at her.

_A trap!_ she exclaimed, and sure enough, Allomon looked up with a grin.

"My turn!" he snarled, spinning with a speed that she could scarcely believe for his size. His tail slammed into her side, knocking the breath from her lungs and flinging her back toward Rika's direction.

"Scaly bum," Rika grated, digging into her deck box. "Time to fight."

Her decision was quick and her fingers quicker, having long since memorized the location of her cards. Within a second, the card was out and sparks flew as she slashed it through the slot of her digivice.

_"Digi-modify! Agumon's Frozen Wind activate!"_

Cold air materialized around Renamon's body as she got to her feet, and faster than the eye could blink she was back before the dinosaur, ready to attack.

"You look a little overheated," she quipped. "How about a nice cold _breeze! Frozen Wind!"_

Thrusting one arm forward, a gust of frigid, blue ice-like fire shot forth. Allomon was no less quick to counter however, uncaring as to _how_ Renamon learned another digimon's technique. Fire clashed with the cold and the two were stuck at a stalemate, neither side overpowering the other.

Or at least that's how it appeared to the untrained eye. Snarling, Rika stepped forward, feeling her heart beat in anger as she saw Renamon struggle just to maintain the delicate balance between herself and the Allomon, while her opponent appeared to not even be trying.

"What are you doing?" she demanded. "This isn't some stupid little _game!"_

"He's strong…!" Renamon strained to reply, but doing so caused her concentration to slip. Sensing this, Allomon grinned and pressed his attack.

"And for desert, _Fox Flambe!"_

The flames crept forward until, finally, they exploded into one unstoppable rush, overpowering Renamon and throwing her backward into a utility pole. Pain shot throughout her body and she slid down helplessly, unable to move as Allomon advanced on her, snarling in triumph.

"Come on!" Rika shouted. "If you digivolved you could beat him!"

Unfortunately the light of evolution did not overtake Renamon just then. Instead, Allomon continued to stalk toward her, maw opening, preparing to deliver the finishing blow.

_"Pyro Sphere!"_

_"Terrier Tornado!"_

A crimson bolt followed by a spinning Terriermon slammed into Allomon's side, sending him crashing to the side. Rika growled upon seeing them, realizing what this meant. Turning, she found her suspicions quickly confirmed as the two boys emerged from the digital field, the brown-haired boy already pushing up his ridiculous goggles.

"I knew it had to be you," the other boy with the dark-hair said, scowling at her.

"This digimon's mine," she said sternly. "Why don't you _wannabes_ find somewhere else to play?"

_"Wannabes?"_ exclaimed the goggle-wearing boy, indignant.

"You don't have to be so nasty," the other boy shot back. "Why are you always making your digimon fight anyway?"

Rika returned her focus to the battle at hand, pulling out a new card from her deck box. "You're starting to sound like a broken record."

_Since Renamon_ still _can't fight without me…_ Sparks flew as Rika slashed the card through her digivice. _"Digi-modify! Hyper Chip activate!"_

Renamon felt new strength flowing through her, and with an effort she forced herself to her feet. She felt great shame coursing through her, accompanying the power. She had failed…again. She failed to meet Rika's expectations. She failed to defeat an opponent without assistance. Worse yet, she had needed help from those _other_ Tamers, who were far weaker in skill.

"You shouldn't be here," she coldly told them, stalking past the pair, both looking at her in concern. Her back hurt where she had struck the pole, but she ignored it. She would fight any enemy, and she would win. This pain was nothing. "Stay out of my way."

"But why?" Guilmon asked, only to be met with a shrug from Terriermon. The two did as she requested though. Cold air swam around her, curling around her fists, a reflection of the anger she felt within her. Cool, not hot. Hot anger would destroy her. Cold destroyed her opponents.

"Let's finish this," she said in a low, dark voice to Allomon.

_"Dino Burst!"_ Allomon replied, launching his attack at her.

" _Frozen Wind!"_ Raising one hand, Renamon launched a beam of burning wind, catching the fire once more. They clashed again, locked in a stalemate once more, but it wouldn't last long. Renamon could feel it. This strength of his was nothing against her now. "I think you need a cold _shower!"_ With that, she _pushed_ with the new power flowing through her, obliterating Allomon's fire breath and enveloping his body, causing ice to form around him. Chattering, Allomon fell back, but there was nowhere for him to go. Nowhere, but annihilation.

_How…How is this possible? I-I've always hated the ice age…_ he thought deliriously before unconsciousness took him, leaving him standing there, a frozen statue, helpless against Renamon's next move.

"Now don't move," she taunted, lowering her hand. "Good boy." Jumping into the air, she crossed her arms, summoning a flurry of glowing, crystalline shards around her. "Ba-bye handsome! _Diamond Storm!"_

As she had many times before – as Takato and Henry witnessed last night – Renamon flung her arms outward, scattering the shards and causing them to fall on her opponent, piercing his icy shell and puncturing his helpless, frost-bitten body. Although it wouldn't be heard, even to himself, Allomon screamed horribly before his body exploded into innumerable shards of data…all of which Renamon absorbed into her body before finally touching down on the ground.

"Renamon, it's time to go," Rika nodded, and with that the vulpine digimon faded into thin air. With that, Rika turned and began to walk away.

"Hey wait a minute!" Takato called after her. "Can't we just talk?"

Rika paused, but didn't look at him. "Sure. I've got something to say. Don't _ever_ try that _again,_ little boys! Renamon and I work alone!"

Henry placed one hand on his hip, looking at her back in frustration. "Does that qualify as a conversation?"

Rika's only response was to simply walk away, leaving Henry dumbfounded.

"Gee… I guess it does…"

Takato and Henry both looked at each other, each one shrugging in turn.

"I don't think we'll ever figure her out," Henry said. "Come on. We'd better get out of here. Someone's probably called the cops by now. I don't think we want to be involved in _another_ investigation."

"Yeah," Takato nodded reluctantly, staring at Rika's retreating back. "Let's get out of here."

Unbeknownst to them, standing above the quartet as they made their retreat from the premises, a small, dark-colored digimon with a pale face, long, arching ears and green-eyes stood on a utility pole's distribution transformer, one crimson-gloved hand set against his hip in a cocky manner. He smirked, eerily mirroring the violent smile of the yellow emote-face emblazoned on his belly, at the scene below and shook his head, _harrumphing._

"What a pathetic little gathering of fools. No self-respecting digimon would be a slave to a human. If they don't change, they're gonna pay, 'cuz Impmon's plan is underway!"

**###**

"…is underway," Ryuuji Tamashiro said to the other person on the phone, a swagger to his step as he smiled. "Don't worry. The V-Pet is performing exactly as designed. Pretty soon it will be helping us manage our business and then we can talk about making it available to the public." He nodded as the person on the other end said something, but he only barely paid attention. All he needed to know was that they were onboard.

"Okay. Thank you. Good bye." Hanging up, he pocketed his cell phone and leaned back in his chair.

_It's a shame, in a way,_ he mused, turning his chair around so he could face the setting sun as it continued to dip behind the horizon. _I'm starting to like this chair…and these moments of solitude… Having something to do. To aim for. Yet it all has to go._

He felt a cold chill in the air and he smiled again, knowing why.

"You have something to say, IceDevimon?"

The demon's shadow fell over his back, his reflection materializing in the window Ryuuji looked out through.

"She's too weak after all," the viral Champion said. "She battled a Wild One, but once again she couldn't digivolve."

"The Queen is surprisingly stubborn by the sounds of it," Ryuuji remarked, closing his eyes. "I'm not sure why she was chosen in the first place to be honest. Oh, I'm well aware that she has _potential,_ but she's her own worst enemy."

"Renamon has made her too soft," IceDevimon said. "I could mold her into what we need…if you'd let me."

"Not yet," Ryuuji said, turning around. "Third time's the charm, as they say, and I still want to conduct my test on her. The Vilemon and Allomon incidents were unexpected and alerted outside forces. We need something that won't do that." He smirked. Raising one hand, a glowing orb materialized in his palm and became smooth and crystalline. "Fortunately I have an idea. One of our Rearguards should do the trick."

IceDevimon stiffened. "MetalTyrannomon is too soon…"

"Not to mention too loud," Ryuuji interrupted. "I said _one_ of our Rearguards. You're too quick to assume IceDevimon. Careful about that."

The orb darkened and soon enough an armored face with nine green eyes appeared on its surface.

_"You have the scent of Lord Apocalymon on you,"_ a voice said from the crystal. _"What is your bidding?"_

"I hate to draw you away from your duties," Ryuuji said. "You do such a fine job at it, but our master has an important job for you…"


	29. Episode 6: The Weaving of Webs

Rumiko's heels clacked hard on the pavement as she hurried home, an excited look on her face, barely able to contain the excitement that bubbled from within her breast.

_Maybe today's the day,_ Rumiko thought. _The day where I can get her to open up to me…_

She remembered her long talk with Sora after Rika inexplicably rushed out of the house for another one of her 'games' with her friends – all the venting that she did about Rika's behavior, her own inability to connect with the girl and her envy over the relationship Sora seemed to have with her without even trying.

Today would be different surely. She went with her to her school for Parents Day. Although brief, she got to see her baby-girl go about her day. Certainly Rika would want to fill her in on the details that she missed when work called her away. She would understand, since her work was important – just as her card game was important – and then…from there… They could both share the details that they both missed from the other. A great opportunity for mother and daughter bonding!

Rumiko picked up her pace just a little bit more, eager to get home as quickly as possible.

**###**

Rika stared into the koi pond, watching the reflection of the moon upon its surface as it trailed through the night sky. Behind her, situated on the roof, sat Renamon, watching her with shining blue eyes. The vulpine digimon had been silent ever since the battle, as had Rika, opting for spending time with her grandmother, dodging questions about her day and her mood.

However, that time was over, leaving them with the proverbial elephant in the room that neither of them could ignore any longer.

"Are you _trying_ to make me look bad?" Rika asked finally, her tone bitter. Renamon looked at her, feeling shame flush her body.

"Why would I want to do that?" she asked. "I only want to make you happy."

This was true. Their relationship may have begun as more of a business arrangement, but she over time she cared about how her actions reflected on Rika. Their battles were increasingly becoming more like setbacks. Even when they won and loaded opponents, she didn't feel any stronger than before, something that left her wondering.

"I don't get it," Rika spat, allowing some more of her anger and disgust to flow through. "What's your problem?"

Renamon winced at the accusation, as it seemed to confirm all of her worst fears. That _she_ was the one at fault. _She_ wasn't good enough.

_Was IceDevimon right? Am I not strong enough?_

"I'm just…waiting, that's all," Renamon replied carefully. She didn't know what else to say. Waiting seemed to be the only thing she could do. She couldn't _force_ herself to digivolve. She didn't know why, but she lacked the inner-force of will to do that to herself.

_Perhaps I am a coward,_ she thought. _If only I did, my fellow Nightmare Soldiers wouldn't be so few in number now…_

"Your friends told me that you wanted to digivolve," Rika grated, her fingers locking into tight fists. "They chose _me_ to help you with that. Is this how it's going to be? Just you sitting around waiting to digivolve whenever you feel like it?"

As the words ran off her tongue, a sneaking suspicion – a seed that had been planted a long time ago – began to sprout. _Am I just being used? Is she even interested in digivolving at all?_

Renamon closed her eyes, feeling the pain of the girl's words course through her like venom in her veins. "I'm…sorry to disappoint you," she replied. "But…Rika…"

"Rika!" came the interrupting voice of Rumiko as she arrived through the main gate. Turning in surprise, Renamon somersaulted down toward the house and vanished into the shadows. "I'm home! Where are you? I had the most amazing day!"

The red-haired girl heaved a heavy sigh, annoyed that her thoughts and time now had to be set aside for someone else. Especially someone who didn't see fit to set their time aside for her when promised.

"I'm out here, Mom!" she called back, grudgingly starting toward the direction of the gate.

**###**

The time spent listening to her mother go on about her workday passed by unbearably slow, and when she finally turned the topic over to her, Rika welcomed the topic change with a sigh of relief.

_"My day was fine,"_ she had replied before excusing herself to go to bed, declaring herself tired. Not that she felt exhausted in reality, but there wasn't anything else left to do with her time. The day was done, and though her mother was home, she didn't feel like spending time with her.

Especially not after what she did at school. Pulling on her pajamas, Rika turned off the lights and settled herself within her blankets. Just as she expected, sleep refused to call to her, leaving her thoughts to turn to the day's events.

Renamon; fighting the Allomon and struggling with the beast.

Renamon; needing to be rescued by the two wannabe Tamers.

Renamon; holding back. Just… _waiting_ to digivolve. With Terriermon's ability to digivolve to Champion, Rika felt one step behind her two 'rivals' – for lack of a better description. She hated that. She may not be competing with them, but she hated feeling like she was losing all the same. Terriermon's Tamer was proof that she was failing somewhere while he succeeded.

"I've _got_ to find a way to make her digivolve," she muttered to herself. "If I don't…then I'll never be able to go to the digital world."

_And I have to. I can't let her hold me back._

Forcing her eyes closed, she attempted to dose. Her mind however continued to remain awake, drifting from thought to thought. Reopening them, she turned on her side, her violet-eyes, shrouded by darkness, finding their way to an award, glinting in the light of the moon, signaling her victory in the last Digimon Card tournament.

_"That was quite an overwhelming victory Miss Nonaka, what did you do to prepare?"_

The memory of the announcer congratulating her made her scowl. Prepare? She hadn't needed to prepare at all. She never did. The players there were all wannabes – kids who couldn't tell a modify card apart from a digimon. Every one of them had it in their head that if they played the game they would become Digidestined or Tamers – that last term had floated around since the end of the War and they latched onto it like a life preserver. Every one of them seemed almost desperate to want to be 'Chosen'…to have a partner digimon. It was infuriating.

Rika hated it because she wanted it desperately too. Becoming a Tamer or a Digidestined was the only way to go to the digital world – or so it was said. She wanted to escape this drudgery of this one and, at the very least, to find her missing father.

Not that she cared about him given that she only barely remembered him from when she was a little kid, but…she couldn't help but wonder sometimes. No one else seemed to be concerned and that…did bother her a little.

Closing her eyes once more, her mind found a track to settle on…

**###**

_The tournament was over and she stood victorious with the crowd before her. Hardly anyone amongst them seemed to be in a celebratory mood, at least not as they had been mere minutes ago, but that was to be expected. Not many people enjoyed losing, she among them._

_In retrospect however, her response to the announcer's question of what she did to prepare,_ "I didn't do anything. It was easy." _likely didn't sit well with a lot of the players who fought tooth and nail to get to the finals and have their dreams of victory snatched away so readily._

_She didn't leave the tournament with any new friends, but she didn't go there to make any so this was no big loss._

_The awards now done with, Rika found herself making her way down the street, her expression dark. A black mood had stolen upon her recently, steadily growing worse as time wore on. Her shirt, grey in color with a skull and bones design emblazoned on it, spoke of this thunderous cloud hanging over her. Her grandmother once mentioned to her that she often wore her moods in her clothes, even when her face pretended otherwise. She hadn't thought much of it then, and didn't now._

_She felt the cool metal of her award in her hand, and she thought of her mother's disinterested look upon seeing it. A slight grimace deformed her mouth._

I don't want to go home, _she thought, and for a wonder she changed her course. In the year that would follow this would become a habit, but at the time she normally went straight home after school or following any of her events. Lacking many of the interests that her peers held, she didn't see much point in going to malls or staying at a game store for longer than necessary. Her interest in technology was minimal at best as well. The card game; books; music; the odd movie; and quite often just…thinking. She thought often on her way home, and found those moments brought her some measure of peace of mind._

_Her mother wouldn't care if she came home later than usual. Her grandmother had no qualms about it either. She would be away from her mother's overwhelming shadow. She'd be…free._

_Her footsteps traced down the streets and through neighborhoods. Without her even realizing it, she found herself in a residential area similar to where she lived, and what was more…she recognized the place._

_Looking around curiously, she continued on, wondering what it was about this neighborhood that felt so familiar._

_"Marcus!"_

_Rika looked up to see a six-year old boy with a mess of reddish-brown hair running recklessly across the street toward a tall woman with amber-colored eyes and light-brown hair. She held a two-year old girl in one hand, looking curiously around her. Rika stopped to stare, her lips parting slightly, but not at the sight of these three. Not at first, but rather at the house that stood behind them._

I know this place… That's…my dad's home. The one he went to live in after he separated from Mom…

_"Marcus, did you fight again?" the woman berated, glowering at the youth before her, who rubbed the back of his head with that odd kind of amusement where one knows that they've been caught._

_"The kid deserved it," the boy – Marcus – replied, wiping at a scuff mark on his cheekbone. Rika could see features in his face that were so strikingly familiar now. His hair, the look in his eyes were all eerily reminiscent of her father. "He was talking about how Dad ditched us! I know he didn't! He'll be back from the digital world someday!"_

_"That doesn't mean you should be out there fighting," the woman – no doubt his mother – admonished. "You're setting a bad example for Kristy. Now go on and get inside. You're going to get cleaned up before you sit at the table. Come on…"_

_Rika's breath hitched in her throat while she watched the family disappear inside the house that belonged to her father. The woman, as if sensing her gaze, turned just long enough to tilt her head at Rika curiously._

_Rika's lips trembled, their eyes meeting, and before she knew it, she spoke._

_"E-Excuse me. Does…a man named Spencer live here?" she asked. Her heart pounded so hard within her chest it made it hard for her to think._

_The woman blinked. "I… Yes," she replied. Furrowing her brow, she scrutinized Rika. "Can I help you?"_

_"I…" Rika shook her head, swallowing the panic emanating from her heart. "No. I'm…fine. I…just wanted to know, that's all."_

_With that said, Rika turned and, with all the strength she could muster to prevent from running, began to head back home._

**###**

_"You're home late, Rika," Seiko observed as the girl stepped into the house and headed for her room. "Did you have fun?"_

_"Yeah," she replied numbly. "I just…" She struggled for a response, tightening her grip on her award before finally saying, "I'm going to bed. I'm feeling a little tired right now. Can you call me when dinner's ready?"_

_"Sure," Seiko nodded, tilting her head at the girl's retreating back in worry._

_Rika entered her room without a further word and drew to a halt. Lifting up her awards – ribbon and metal cup – she looked at them as though she were seeing them for the first time. She felt the urge to just throw them – hurl them at the wall and vent all her rage out in one sitting._

I can't though… _she thought._ Not with grandma here. She'd hear it and probably freak… I…don't want to explain that…

_So both awards, along with her cards and card scanner, fell onto the table in a haphazard fashion; the two symbols of her success becoming meaningless to her. Placing her hands behind her head she lay herself down to join them by her table._

_"Ugh, I am so bored," she said aloud. This wasn't true, but she said it more for the benefit of any prying ears that might be nearby. She didn't want questions. She just wanted to be left alone with her thoughts._

Dad… Those kids… That woman… _The thoughts swam around in her head over and over, again and again._ They're his new family. And he's missing again… Just like before…

_"He was talking about how Dad ditched us! I know he didn't! He'll be back from the digital world someday!"_

The digital world…

_The doors to her room closed suddenly, sparks of electricity dancing along them. The lights winking out caught her attention and she sat up, suddenly alarmed by the unexpected crash of thunder._

_"Whoa! What's happening?"_

_As if in response, the screen on her card scanner began to glow, and three windows of light sprang into existence around her, causing her to cry out, startled. Dark figures filled them, but she recognized the shapes from the game. Digimon._

" _There she is!"_

" _The Digimon Queen!"_

" _She is the child!"_

" _Yes, you are the one!"_

" _Make me stronger!"_

" _Make me digivolve!"_

What's going on? _They were all speaking, their voices blending into a kind of screaming moan, demanding that she give them strength. Shivering in fear, Rika crawled backwards until she bumped up against the wall behind her._ I'm trapped!

_"Tame me…" moaned one._

_"I want to be stronger…" howled another._

_Claws began to push into the room, reaching toward her. Rika looked back and forth between the screens, each digimon's form swelling forth to obscure the light that revealed them. She had just enough time to spot an Apocalymon in their number before he too vanished into the darkness._

_"Only you can do it," said the Apocalymon's voice on the left screen. "Give us power and you shall have your heart's desire… To go into the digital world and leave this wretched world behind. To be reunited with_ him…"

_The digimon encroached closer, but Apocalymon's words brought her fear to a focus._ The digital world! _her mind gasped, seizing upon the name. This digimon was offering her a way there? And in exchange all she had to do…was…tame them._

But… I can't. Not…this many…

_A part of her questioned if she should even do this at all. These digimon… And the Apocalymon… Fear hammered away in her chest. They were pushing into her home, demanding her to help them for their own reasons. Shadows shrouded them, shrouded her room leaving her feeling cornered…suffocated beneath the weight of their power._

Just data… _she thought to herself._ They're just data… Zeroes and ones…

_That made her decision easier._

_"I can't tame all of you!" she shouted, and at that the swarm of digimon took pause. "I just want one strong digimon!"_

_"Just one…?"_

_At that, a new light began to glow in the pile of her cards, causing the crowd of digimon to pause and retreat, leaving an open path between them, whereupon a new figure appeared, and at her presence the others vanished completely. Thin, voluptuous, with massive fists, long ears, a tail and eyes like knife edges. Rika knew the shape of this shrouded digimon well._

_"Are you Renamon?" she asked as the figure drew ever closer._

_"You wanted someone_ powerful _didn't you?" the figure asked before the windows of light winked out of existence, leaving Rika in her darkened room, illuminated by a bright, blue glow from her card pile. Rika gasped, realizing that she was shaking…shaking_ badly.

" _I must be dreaming…" she said to herself in a strained voice, struggling to get herself under control. This lie – for it was nothing but a lie – did little to comfort her, but she was moving now, approaching her table where her cards lay; where the source of the blue glow was._

_A blue card._

_"Huh?" Turning the card over, she saw what appeared to be a crude dinosaur picture emerging from a yellow English letter D. "This is different," she whispered. She felt calmer now. Being focused on this particular puzzle made it easier to ease back. Tension still wound itself throughout her body, but it was easier to ignore in favor of the problem in front of her._

_Turning toward her card reader, she picked it up and held the strange blue card to its scanning slot._

_"All right, let's see what we've got."_

_She slashed the card through the scanner and its screen began to read a bunch of numbers that made no sense to her. Not that it mattered for a glow quickly surrounded the scanner and caused it to morph, taking on an arc-shape and growing bulkier in appearance. Gone was its simple metal grey color, replaced by a white one. A blue ring surrounded its screen and beneath it was a single button. A blue strap completed the change, leaving Rika in awe at what she held._

_"I am dreaming…" she whispered before a new light burst forth from the screen. She felt as though the light reached into her, suffusing her soul with its energies._

Maybe this means I get a wish. Well there's only one thing I really want, _she thought, holding the_ digivice _to her chest._ I wish Renamon was mine and that I knew how to make her digivolve. I wish I was a real digimon tamer.

_The light died down, and the darkness vanished, leaving Rika in the room with her new digivice and… Looking up, she gasped in surprise to see the Renamon from before, floating in front of her, a fine mist dissipating from around her body._

_"I've been searching for a strong tamer," the Renamon said, her feet touching down, "and you are the one."_

_The vulpine digimon approached her as the girl found herself shaking again, though this time in awe and amazement that her wish had been fulfilled._

_"It's no accident that we're a team," she continued. "Share your strength with me and we will be_ unstoppable."

**###**

The night was calm as Renamon walked along the rooftops. Through the link that she shared with her human partner, she felt the young girl finally drift off to sleep, fit, but troubled though it was. She sensed the memories from their first meeting flitting around in her unconscious state and once more shame flushed her body.

_Things had been so different then. We thought we knew all that needed to be done at the time. Now however…_

Renamon let the thought trail off. Things weren't working the way they should have been. Renamon didn't know why, but the problem was there as clear as day.

As much as she hated to do so, she thought back to the human boy with the Terriermon, whose digimon had digivolved to Champion despite being their inferior.

She had heard rumors of the Digidestined and how they digivolved their partners. If true, was that bond the same between Tamers and the tamed digimon as well?

No answers greeted her. Only the silence of the night.

_Be patient, Rika,_ she thought quietly. _I will digivolve, but how soon might depend on you._


	30. Episode 6: The Webs Connecting Our Hearts

Renamon sat on a high tension wire, its thinness not bothering her balance in the least while she considered her dilemma. Digivolution… How to obtain the next level. For as long as she could remember, the answer was obvious.

"All I really have to do is destroy one digimon is strong enough and load his data, but it may not be that simple…"

_At least not with how things have been progressing,_ she thought. _I've loaded enemies for years. It granted me the power of my Rookie form. Is the Champion level just that different? It must. I've loaded Armors and Champions and I still haven't achieved any new power. Perhaps the damage I'm receiving in battle is too much…?_

"Awww… Ain't that sweet?" snickered a voice from off to the side. "A digi-babe pining in the moonlight."

Surprised, Renamon jumped backward and fell into a combat stance. Her azure gaze fell upon a diminutive, dark-colored digimon with wide ears and a cream-colored face, lounging on the lamp of a power pole her spot was connected to. A red-gloved hand was draped over his side sensually while the other supported his head while he grinned at her. Renamon's eyes widened slightly before narrowing, recognizing him.

"You…" she began. "What are you doing here, Impmon? I can't believe you'd show your face again. Not after what happened when you left us."

Impmon… A former ally with a mouth louder than he had the power to back it up with. IceDevimon had told her Impmon had left the Nightmare Soldiers shortly after she became partners with Rika, his views on the matter being quite blunt and vocal.

Impmon continued to smirk at Renamon. "Don't look to me at you're too happy there toots, but then again what digimon would be when you gotta answer to some snotty-nosed kid like you're their pet or something. Am I right?"

Renamon glowered at the diminutive digimon. "I'm not a slave, Impmon," she growled defensively. "Rika happens to be my partner."

"Well your partner's not that impressive," Impmon replied, still smirking. "Even so she's got you believing that you can't do anything for yourself. It's the most pathetic thing I've ever seen. All you digi-slaves are the same, deep down you wanna be just like me. I mean after all who wouldn't want to be like me? Handsome and free like a bird in a tree! Ba Boom!"

He sat there for a second, waiting for Renamon to say something. When the vulpine digimon didn't so much as peep, he stood up, his grin vanishing into annoyance.

"Hello? This is Class A material, honey!"

Still not receiving the response that he was hoping for – some kind of acknowledgement of his superiority – he shrugged nonchalantly. "Anyways like I was saying, I think you're really sad, and you know what that makes me? Huh? Angry, that's what! And anger's not good for me to see a good looking digimon like you going to waste. It makes me wanna _throw up!"_

Renamon regarded Impmon dispassionately. "You haven't changed at all since you left us. Why do you think I'm sad?"

"Why?" he hummed. "I mean look at you, out here all alone, moping around in the moonlight like a puppy that chewed up a slipper and got tossed outta the house." Impmon laughed derisively at her. "You're in serious denial lady. There's a whole other world out there – actually a couple of them – but if you're happy fetching bones for some human then be my guest."

Renamon sighed mentally. He truly hadn't changed at all. "If that's your best material, then you need a new writer."

With that, Renamon stood up and hopped off the wire and down to the ground below, causing Impmon's mouth to drop open in surprise as he stared at her retreating form in anger.

"Hey! Where you going! That was rude you know? Didn't your little human teach you manners? Huh?"

Ignoring the little pest of a digimon, Renamon began to walk off. Tsking to himself, Impmon's grin returned, this time though with a glimmer of malicious intent to it.

"Apparently not," he mused to himself. "Then maybe I can teach ya something." Raising one gloved hand, he snapped his fingers and a crimson fireball materialized above them. "In today's lesson, we'll begin with tough love."

Pulling back, Impmon hurled the fireball at Renamon. Sensing it, Renamon turned just in time for it to explode in front of her face. Crying out in surprise and some pain as the intense light assaulted her vision. She quickly recovered and fell into a combat stance, growling as she looked up for Impmon so she could pummel him, only to find him missing. Not that it mattered where he was since he continued to shout at her from the safety of the darkness.

"Hey! take it from me toots, you got to quit being stupid to really be free! get away from that human immediately!" Impmon laughed loud as Renamon searched the darkness, extending her senses to locate him. _"Ba Boom!"_ he crowed once last time as his voice receded, indicating his retreat.

Renamon tightened her fists. _Impmon… When next I see you…_

A sensation tugged at the corner of her mind and her blue eyes swung around just in time to see a column of digital particles erupting skyward, followed by a thick fog engulfing the tree line of the park.

"A digital field!" Renamon gasped, launching herself toward it, all thoughts of Impmon vanishing from her mind.

**###**

On Hypnos' computer screens, a red dot circled the length of the room, beeping madly.

"Looks like a Wild One," Yolei stated, while below her, Takeru flicked his lighter open and closed casually.

"They just never learn, do they?" he said, almost amused.

A green arrow-shaped light with a circular top shot toward the Wild One's dot.

"Establishing Tracer-lock now," Yolei said, continuing to coordinate commands through her control panel.

"Excellent."

At that, the red dot vanished abruptly from the screen before the Tracer could even reach it.

"Sir!" Tally exclaimed from her position behind Yolei. "It's bio-emerging!"

**###**

"Where did this mist come from?" Sora asked aloud as she and Biyomon made their way through the park.

"I think this is how digimon are coming into the real world now Sora," Biyomon replied, fluttering her wings slightly in agitation. Gripping her digivice tightly in one hand, Sora swallowed anxiously.

"Maybe this was a bad idea after all…"

The idea in question had to do with Rika and her digimon partner. More accurately, Sora desired to locate the Renamon in question and perhaps even talk to her. She was _certain_ it was a Renamon, given Biyomon's description and Rika showing favor toward the card in her Digimon deck. She had hoped to find it with her digivice as she had done with other digimon during the war, but unfortunately nothing came up.

"Stay close to me, Biyomon," Sora said to her partner as the fog thickened around them. She scanned her surroundings before glancing at her digivice. The tree line was just barely visible, and the fog – whatever it was made of – proved to be difficult to see through.

Her digivice wasn't sharing any secrets with her either, but she knew _something_ was out there. She didn't survive the war and her childhood adventures without picking up a few tricks along the way.

_"What do we have here?"_ chuckled a dark voice that caused Sora and Biyomon to tense up. _"Two little lambs lose their way home?"_

"Show yourself!" Sora shouted, her fingers clenching around her digivice. She wondered if it was a good idea to digivolve now even though they didn't know what they were up against. The space around them was limited, and Biyomon's higher level forms were ill-equipped to fight in such close quarters.

From the fog, nine eyes lit up.

_"If you insist!"_ the dark voice chortled. _"Poison Thread!"_

A blast of a thin, web-like substance shot out from the fog before either Sora or Biyomon could react, wrapping around them and pulling tight. Sora pushed at the webbing, only for it to constrict all the more tightly around her. The web tugged and the woman found herself falling backward into the dirt.

_"Time to feast…"_ the eyes gleamed eagerly.

_"Sora!"_

A flash of golden fur shot over Sora's vision, and suddenly the webbing was being ripped open by the claws of a golden-furred, fox-like digimon. Grabbing hold of the two by the shoulders, Renamon lifted them up.

_"Poison Cobweb!"_ shouted the voice from the fog, a black miasma firing at them. Narrowing her eyes, Renamon teleported out of the path of the attack and then rematerialized outside of the digital field, where Renamon released them. Sora and Biyomon both stumbled as they spun around to face their rescuer, stunned and amazed at the speed it all happened in.

"Wha…?" the Digidestined of Love began, taking in Renamon's visage, eyes wide with amazement. "You…"

"Sora! That's the digimon that Rika went with!"

The vulpine digimon's eyes widened slightly before narrowing on the pink bird, wondering if she should do something about her since she knew of their partnership. However, a quick reminder that she was partnered with Sora – and that Rika greatly respected her – changed her mind.

_I suppose I can only accept this and hope for the best._

"I will battle the digimon in the digital field," she said succinctly before adding, "For Rika's sake, stay out of this."

"Wait! We can help…you…"

Before Sora could even finish, the vulpine digimon had phased out of view. Sora pressed her lips together tightly. "Well that was rude."

"Sora, we have to help her!"

"I know, Biyomon. We're going to need a plan though. Birdramon's too big and your attack might only make things worse." She grated her teeth together, hating feeling helpless to do anything to be of assistance. _We can't just stand here and_ hope _things are going to go all right… What if Renamon loses?_

"We're going in there," Sora affirmed. "I don't know what we can do besides fight right now, but if worst comes to worst we can digivolve. But first…" Taking out her cell phone, she brought up her contact list and hit autodial on one of them. "I'd better let Ken know about this and hope that he can get here in time."

**###**

Rika raced toward the digital field at breakneck speed, having been awakened by the alarm from her digivice. She was slightly confused, as it brought up the image of a tiny digimon – an _Impmon_ – that was too weak to be of any bother, and wasn't sure why she should even care about it. However the arrival of a digital field, and with it a much _stronger_ digimon, caught her attention, and she quickly dressed in her combat apparel. Slipping out of the house was easy with her family asleep.

_Not that Mom cares where I go anyway,_ she thought, nearing the edge of the digital field and slipping on her glasses. _I wonder if Renamon is already here._

She slipped into the digital field and soon entered a clearing. Noticing something odd, she drew to a halt and took off her shades, glancing around her. There seemed to be something covering the trees that resembled…

"What's with the webs?" she asked, furrowing her brow.

"Rika!" shouted the voice of Renamon from off to the side. "Run!"

Turning in the direction of her partner's voice, she had barely enough time to notice a stream of webbing surging her way before Renamon tackled her, taking her into her arms and somersaulting through the air to avoid the entrapping webs. Coming to a landing, Renamon pulled away and looked at the girl with concern.

"Are you all right?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Rika replied, drawing back a little, feeling a bit disoriented. Catching sight of movement, she looked up to see a large, black-furred arachnid with a bloody main and nine green eyes surrounding a yellow carapace on its face crawling down the length of its web toward them.

"Perfect!" the spider hissed as it neared them. "I was just thinking about what to do for dinner!"

Renamon narrowed her eyes. She recognized this creature as one of the Nightmare Soldiers rearguard, operating in stealth to keep their unit safe from prying eyes.

She didn't know why it was here, though a part of her was willing to guess.

_Apocalymon always did like to challenge his soldiers if he felt they were falling behind._ Pulling her hands into tight fists, she glared at her 'ally', knowing just as well as it did what they were going to have to do to each other.

Only one of them was getting out of this alive.

"Eat dirt," she spat.

"Oooh! You're spicy too!" the spider laughed.

Raising her digivice, a holographic circle materialized over its screen, identifying the digimon.

"Dokugumon! _Whoa!_ Champion level!" Smirking, she looked up at the spider. "Finally we've a worthy opponent. With her Poison Thread attack this spider's as deadly as she is ugly. "

"Then I'd better step on her," Renamon replied, jumping into the air. Surging toward Dokugumon, she crossed her arms. An orb of light appeared before her and she slashed her claws outward, causing the sphere to burst and send a torrent of glowing shards hurtling toward Dokugumon. _"Diamond Storm!"_

Undaunted, Dokugumon countered by simply turning around to present its spinneret. _"Poison Thread!"_ it shouted, firing a large net of webbing that caught Renamon's attack and disintegrated it. Turning back around quickly, Dokugumon fired a black miasma at Renamon that caught her full in the face, causing her to falter and drop into the web, catching her.

"Renamon!" Rika shouted, starting toward her partner. "Don't give up!"

"Rika!" Renamon shouted, her voice straining as she fought through the vile toxins that clouded her head. "Get out of here!"

_"Poison Thread!"_ Doing as before, Dokugumon turned to present its spinneret at Rika and fired a net of webbing, catching the girl and trapping her in place. Rika struggled, but no matter how much she tried the web clung to her and held her still.

_This is stupid! It's just cobwebs! I…_

_"Rika!"_

Renamon's cry brought her eyes up just in time to see Dokugumon launching toward her, proving to be surprisingly agile in spite of its massive bulk. Its jaws gaped open, revealing a nasty set of fangs, and sick venom dripped from their tips. Almost at once she was back in the parking garage, looking down the barrel of Gargomon's guns as they locked in on her. She stood stock still, frozen as fear bubbled inside her chest. The fangs… The _hunger_ in those inhuman eyes. Dokugumon was going to _kill her!_ She was going to _die!_ A thousand thoughts flew through her mind, but it all coalesced into one thing. One act.

The bubbling burst, and all at once the fear and terror ripped free from their restraints and she screamed.

_"Spiral Twister!"_

Biyomon's shout cut over Rika's scream as a spiraling green flame slammed into Dokugumon's face with enough force to knock it back. Taking advantage of this opportune time, Renamon slashed her arms outward from within her trap, sending a stream of diamonds rocketing through the air. Seeing them, Dokugumon again leapt out of the way, but it wasn't their target. They slashed by the spider and surged toward Rika, cutting away the strands of sticky webbing that restrained her until not one was left. Rika looked at herself in dumb surprise before turning up toward her partner.

"Renamon, you saved my life…"

"She's not the only one," came Sora's joking voice as she stepped into view from behind a tree, digivice in hand. "But we can talk about that later."

"Sora…!" Rika gasped. "What are you…?"

Dokugumon's roaring hiss as it stalked toward Renamon interrupted her. Remembering her partner, Rika pulled out her digivice and withdrew a card from her deck box, catching Sora's attention.

"Rika!" Renamon shouted. "Get out of here! _Now!"_

"I'm not going anywhere!" Rika shouted back. The fire was lit inside her now. Renamon had saved her life. Data or not, she owed her. "Digi-modify!" she called, slashing the card through her digivice's slot. "Snimon's Twin Sickles Activate!

"What's this?" Sora whispered in amazement as she overheard this.

"Did she just…" began Biyomon as well. Before either of them could say or do anything else, light enveloped Renamon and she slashed her arms outward, her hands morphing into a pair of metallic scythes. Slicing out of her bonds with ease, she dropped down and bounced off a tree branch to gain some air.

"What?!" Dokugumon exclaimed in surprise, having never seen this before. Taking advantage of its hesitation, Renamon slashed her new weapons through the air at full power, expending their data in one shot.

_"Twin Sickles!"_

Twin violet energy crescents flew toward Dokugumon, who took both attacks to the head, smacking them out of the way with its hard carapace. Snarling in anger, it leapt forth again, this time toward Renamon as she landed, her arms morphing back to normal.

"Now it's my turn!" it growled. Renamon never got a chance to rally so she could dodge, allowing Dokugumon the opportunity it needed to angle its head and punch its fangs into Renamon's body. The vulpine digimon screamed as the insect pumped its venom into her, pain lighting her insides afire.

"Oh my God…" Sora gasped. "Biyomon!"

"Leave her alone!" Rika shouted as Biyomon rose into the air and fired off another Spiral Twister. Dokugumon laughed and dodged the attack this time, landing again on its web.

"My pleasure," it said, spitting Renamon to the side, where she landed in a net of webbing.

"Rika… S-Save yourself…" she wheezed, struggling for breath. She felt barely alive; her mind hazy from pain. It was over for certain now. She failed in her mission to become the weapon Apocalymon needed her to be.

_I need…need to get Rika out of here…_ her mind whispered as it began to darken. She saw Dokugumon charge toward Rika again, this time letting out another _Venom Blast_ attack. The dark gas streamed toward the girl as Sora's digivice suddenly exploded with light… But Biyomon's digivolution would come too late to save Rika. She stood there, frozen in her spot, a look of terror…and a bone deep sorrow.

_…Rika!_

Finding new energy, Renamon teleported down in front of the girl, shielding her from the miasma that she had been hit with earlier. The attack splashed over her as she screamed again, burning at fur and finding its way into her wounds. Renamon staggered, struggling to maintain her balance. She felt so lightheaded now. Her energy…gone. She was barely standing now. It was just a matter of time.

_She looks so confused,_ Renamon thought, barely hearing the crash of Birdramon as she dove into Dokugumon like a burning cannonball. All that mattered now was…Rika.

The girl's mouth shook as she looked into her eyes. It was as if she were seeing something for the first time…seeing _her_ for the first time.

"Oh Renamon, why'd you do it?"

"Because…" Renamon whispered, "…you're my partner."

With the last word escaping her mouth in an exhausted sigh – the admission taking a surprising amount of strength – Renamon toppled to the ground, Rika barely managing to catch her to slow her fall. Rika gasped, collapsing with her.

_I did this…_ she thought, seeing the seriousness of Renamon's wounds. Every burn from Dokugumon's venom… The puncture wounds from her fangs that were already festering and turning black… She didn't need a medical degree to know the extent of Renamon's injuries. She was in bad shape and rapidly getting worse.

"I'm so sorry… Renamon…" Her voice quavered. More emotion was building up within her. She no longer felt in control of the situation. She hated not being in control. She didn't know what to do. This…This had all gone…so very wrong, and so quickly.

Tiny steps approached from behind her… Calumon, who had seen the digital field and went to investigate out of boredom, tilted his head to one side, taking in the situation.

"Ohhh… Game over?" he asked. The small red rectangle on his head began to glow slightly, as if responding to something nearby.

There was a loud thud as Dokugumon finally pushed back Birdramon. The trees and webbing finally becoming her undoing. Birdramon fell back, crashing into a net. She rolled to the side so she could get her feet under her and launch herself into the air, but quickly found the webbing pinning her wings to her sides. The fires burning from her feathers was destroying it, but not…soon…enough…

"Rika!" Sora shouted, grabbing hold of Rika's shoulder firmly. "We've got to get out of here! Ken will be here soon! He'll…"

"I'm not leaving!" Rika growled, shaking her shoulder free from the Digidestined.

_Stubborn as always…_ Renamon thought. "Rika!" she begged. "Get away while you can."

"Rika, listen to her…" Sora began, only to be interrupted by the fiery-haired girl as emotion began to seep over the edge.

"Don't go away! Please don't leave me!"

"I have to…" Renamon whispered, her eyes closing. "Please go…"

Her breathing stopped. Reaching forward, Sora wrapped her arms around Rika and pulled her up. "We've got to _go!"_ Flashbacks to the war pounded through her mind. All the dead and dying they had to leave behind when they were in the retreat… Friends begging them to escape…or to not leave. The only thing she could do was what she did then. Make sure whoever had the best chance of surviving…survived.

Unfortunately Rika stubbornly clung to Renamon's unmoving body as the last of her chains shattered.

"Wait! You can't…!" Clenching her eyes shut, Rika threw herself at her partner one last time. _"Renamonnn!"_

Light burst forth from Rika's digivice, enveloping Renamon as her chest heaved, gasping for breath. Her eyes shot open as new power surged through her. A shell of data materialized around her, stripping her down to her analog form and adding new data to it. Hands became paws and one tail became nine. A ribbon with bells attached to it formed around a much more animalistic neck. Blue fires lit up around her as she shouted the completion of her transformation.

_"Renamon! Digivolve tooo…Kyubimon!"_

The shell of data shattered, revealing Kyubimon now – her Champion level form. Looking up, she turned a baleful look at Dokugumon as it pounced on Birdramon, impaling her neck with its fangs.

"Game time!" Calumon cheered, the glow from the triangle on his head receding.

"No! Birdramon!" Sora shouted as her partner's form began to glow and recede, reverting back to her Rookie form of Biyomon.

"That's all there is?" Dokugumon spat, crawling over to the now fallen Biyomon. "Well, I'm sure you still have _much_ more to give…" A flurry of fireballs struck it in the face, causing it to back off and turn in surprise. "You?! You digivolved?! But how…!"

"My _partner_ made me digivolve!" Kyubimon replied coldly, stalking toward the arachnid. "I won't let you take Sora's."

"Fine," Dokugumon snorted. "Let's play!" Turning around to present its hindquarters, Dokugumon fired a net of webs at Kyubimon.

"Payback time," Kyubimon said under her breath as she spread her nine tails outward. Fires lit up at their tips and then she sent them flying toward Dokugumon. Like ghosts, they swarmed around the fired webbing, setting it afire and disintegrating it. They repeated this along the length of the greater web, sending streams of blue fire surging toward where Dokugumon sat. Seeing this, Dokugumon leapt toward Kyubimon.

"Not so fast, hotshot!"

Confident in her new power, Kyubimon jumped toward her opponent. Curling into a ball, blue fire surrounded her entire body before a monstrous, blazing, creature-like fire leapt up, aiming toward the arachnid.

"Step into _my_ parlor," Kyubimon shouted. _"Dragon Wheel!"_

The burning azure serpent swallowed Dokugumon, setting its entire body alight. The spider screamed as its body broke apart, the searing heat utterly shattering it. The fire dying down, Kyubimon uncurled and floated in midair, her body glowing as she absorbed the defeated Champion's data before it could escape.

"Unbelievable," Rika breathed in awe as Kyubimon landed back to Earth in front of her.

"I've got to admit, that was impressive," Sora smiled, approaching them with Biyomon in her arms. The pink bird digimon stirred, moaning softly, but managed a small smile for the pair.

"Is she…?" began Rika, concern in her voice. She felt as if something had changed inside her. She didn't understand it, but looking at Biyomon hurt like this…and the way Renamon had looked from before…

She swallowed, remembering her battles with the goggle-wearing boy from before.

_I was going to do this to his partner…_ a part of her whispered.

"She'll be all right," Sora replied, although she did look a bit worried. "Izzy explained to me once that digimon can get rid of the worst of poisons when they digivolve or reverse digivolve. Something about the gaining and loss of data I think. I don't remember it very well." Frowning slightly, she tapped Biyomon on the beak lightly. "I'm still going to get you looked at as soon as I can get you to the closest digimon shelter."

"I'm _fine_ Sora…"

"Maybe, but for my piece of mind, okay?" Sighing and shaking her head, she returned her attention to Rika. "So how long has this been going on?"

Before Rika could reply, there was a loud beating of wings as Stingmon landed before them, Ken Ichijouji dropping down from out of his arms.

"Sorry we're late. I…"

"It's _her!"_ Stingmon interrupted, falling into a combat stance.

"Her who…?" began Ken before his gaze fell upon Rika. _"You!"_

"Uh…!" Rika drew back suddenly, recognizing this pair. "Back off!"

Sora looked back and forth between the two, already guessing that there was some history between the two that she was not aware of.

_This is going to be a long night of explanations…_


	31. Interlude 4: The Curse of the Sword

The clack of tracks. The jerk of the cart. A high-pitched sing-song voice humming in tune with these noises. Sighing contently, Tai leaned back in his seat and folded his arms behind his head while next to him, Agumon lay flat on his back, snoring away. Across from him, Matt leaned against the wall of the train cart, eyes closed with Gabumon's head occupying his feet. Tai gave a light chuckle and turned his head toward the window, where the starry sky of space greeted him, broken only by the subtle glow of blue emanating from the digital world.

"What's so funny?" came Matt's voice. Tai laughed again.

"I had a feeling you weren't sleeping."

"I was, just lightly. Old habits." Cracking open his eyes, he craned his eyes toward the Digidestined of Courage. "Seriously? What's so funny?"

"I'm just remembering…when we were on that trolly car during our first night in the digital world. Now here we are…on a Trailmon, doing that all over again. Isn't that kinda funny?"

"Not really," Matt replied after a moment of thought.

"Matt, you really need to lighten up."

"The digital world's at stake. Our world's at stake. And you're asking me to _lighten up."_ Matt turned to face Tai more fully, an angry expression crossing his face. Raising his hands in a placating gesture, Tai's face became serious.

"How about we remember that we're on the same side and that we can't really get into a fight in here?"

Matt glowered at Tai before turning away.

"Hey, at least we found this guy heading toward us," Tai continued. "I thought we were going to have to fly all the way on MetalGarurumon and WarGreymon. That would have been a long trip just flying around for the next few days…needing a bathroom break…never knowing when our digimon'll get tired enough to reverse-digivolve…"

"Tai?"

"Uh…yeah?"

"Shut up, please."

Tai sighed as the cabin door opened up and in slid a Numemon, a green, mucous-like digimon with a pair of eyes on stalks, wearing a red, smart-looking uniform with a bell cap sitting on its head.

"Well, at least the service is good," Tai said with a touch of sarcasm as the Numemon approaching him with its massive tongue hanging out of its mouth came to a halt.

"May I see your tickets?" it asked. Tai and Matt both sighed.

**###**

"I have a hypothesis, Izzy," said Tentomon from the man's laptop. Izzy, staring out the caboose in the direction of the moons, nodded and glanced over his shoulder into the cart's interior.

"I'm glad that you're using the correct word instead of the more common variation not used in the scientific community," he replied.

"Yes, well, it took me long enough…"

"Anyway, I'm all ears, pal."

"I don't believe those moons are simply 'moons' in the traditional sense, Izzy. As in, not like how they would be formed back in the real world."

"So you don't think that they're left over digital matter from the digital world's formation?" Rubbing his chin thoughtfully, he considered the matter. "Am I right to suppose that you're saying that the digital world is simply mimicking them due to the data that passes through it? Since the Earth has a moon, it has moons? And since some fictional stories have multiple moons, it too has multiple moons?"

"No, though that is an interesting point as well," Tentomon said, his avatar mimicking Izzy's motion with his claw.

"So what do you think they are then?"

"I was considering the possibility that they were early digital worlds, or at least their residual data that died out once newer, more advanced forms of communication began to emerge."

"You mean like ARPANET?" Izzy asked. Tentomon nodded.  
"Possibly even other packet-switched networks that were operating in the 1960's, such as the Mark I. Of course, this is all a hypothesis, but…"

"It's an interesting thought nonetheless." Turning back toward the glowing worlds on the edge of the digital frontier, Izzy's face softened. The possibility that these were digital worlds that died when early networks were decommissioned or made way for newer, more powerful networks saddened him, leaving him to wonder what would happen to the current digital world. In his research it appeared to be at a point where it simply evolved now, having gathered enough data to have a kind of 'gravitational pull' toward new information streaming through. The geological strata of the digital world was diverse enough for it, and Tentomon's suggestion would explain some discrepancies…

_It's so beautiful,_ he thought, taking in the full majesty of two of the three moons – the third, a blue one, not currently aligned at the moment. _I wish Mimi were here to see this._

Izzy hung his head, suddenly feeling very homesick. Not for the first time did he wonder why the pink-loving girl had turned her eye on him back when they were entering high school. He couldn't remember doing anything to warrant such attention, so focused in his studies and computers – things she took issue with back when they were children during their first adventure in the digital world.

Sensing the change in his demeanor Tentomon tilted his head to one side. "Izzy? Would you like me to play the video message again?" he asked. The video message in question was from Mimi, wishing him all her luck and love before he left on this voyage with Matt…along with a surprise. She was currently in America at the moment, visiting friends and her parents – who moved back there for the _third_ time in the years after she graduated high school. They were…an odd couple who had no problem moving from place to place.

Composing himself, Izzy tightened his grip on the railing. "If you could, please," he said. Behind him there came a click and then Mimi's voice broke the silence.

_"Hey Izzy! Just wanted to wish you all the best before you go! Lots of kisses and everything!"_ A giggle. _"Anyway, I wanted to keep this a secret for when you got back, but I'm just so excited I just can't help myself. We've both been talking about family for a while now, and, well…"_ Mimi's voice became thick all of a sudden, as if she were crying, but he knew by now that it wasn't from sadness, but from joy. _"The tests came in. We're going to be parents."_

_Parents…_ his mind whispered as she continued on. He could just imagine her now without even looking. The tears of happiness. The way she was hugging her arms close to herself. _We're going to be parents. We're starting a family…_

He thought about how, years ago, he clung to those he called Mom and Dad, crying out both in love and relief – relief that age old fears could at last be laid to rest. They weren't technically speaking, his parents, but they raised him for so long that the distinction didn't matter in the slightest.

Someday soon, both he and Mimi would have a son or daughter do the same to them.

_I hope that I'm up to the challenge of being a dad,_ he thought. _Mimi's good with people, but I still have a hard time with that sort of thing._

He chuckled slightly. _I wonder if he or she will have her eyes?_

His wondering was interrupted by the sudden violent lurching of the train.

_"Izzy!"_

**###**

Tai was the first one to look out the window as Trailmon rocked on his tracks. Smoke flooded into the cart as something exploded up ahead. None of them knew what it could be – yet – but at this point it didn't matter. All they knew was that it meant bad news for them.

"Who's attacking us this time?!" Matt coughed, struggling to get to his feet. Narrowing his eyes, Tai fought to see through the smoke that billowed into the cart. Presently the smoke wasn't bothering him, his experience with the digital world's ins and outs protecting him. Should he lose his concentration or lose himself to panic that would soon change.

"I can't see anything…" Tai began before the cart lurched once more, only this time it was being yanked up. Great metal claws sheered through the walls, sending wood splintering into the air, forcing Tai to drop back to protect himself from the shrapnel. Within short order, the remains of the train cart was ripped apart and sent flying through the air along with a screaming Trailmon, leaving Tai, Matt, Agumon and Gabumon suspended in midair, helpless to the towering grey dinosaur-like creature with metal implants affixed to its body. Tai recognized the digimon species immediately as a MetalTyrannomon.

It didn't take a genius to figure out why it was here.

"Nightmare Soldier on our twelve!" he exclaimed, ripping his digivice out and pointing it in front of him. Agumon leapt off empty space toward the terrifying Ultimate without a single thought, the glow of digivolution enveloping him.

_"Agumon! Warp digivolve tooo…"_

_"Nuclear Laser!"_ MetalTyrannomon shouted, an energy shell launching from its left arm and crashing into Agumon's digital-sphere at point blank range upon its formation. The shell detonated with tremendous force and soon all was lost to the light.

**###**

IceDevimon's wings sent sparkling ice falling toward the ground as he came to a landing next to Ryuuji Tamashiro. The 'man's' hands were in his pockets, a blank look on his face as he observed the situation in the clearing up ahead. Red-eyes gleaming, IceDevimon followed his gaze and bared his fangs angrily, spying the Kyubimon standing behind the red-haired girl.

"So…she passed," he hissed.

"Hmmm…" Ryuuji shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "She got Renamon to digovlve at least, although it's not what would be useful for the Nightmare Soldiers. She's in a grey area now."

Sighing, he shook his head in disappointment. "What about the others in the digital world? Did you take care of those three annoying Digidestined?"

"MetalTyrannomon destroyed the Trailmon and attacked them before the Digidestined o Courage could digivolve. However…"

"Ah… Of course." Ryuuji sighed again and turned his eyes skyward as if beseeching them for succor. "The ever present luck that always seems to smile on their kind. Don't stop me. Let me guess first."

Twirling one hand and humming to himself, he pressed a palm against his forehead, thinking things through. "MetalTyrannomon forgot to account for the one of Friendship."

"There _was_ an explosion. MetalTyrannomon attacked too close and damaged himself. I have him… _recovering_ in the space between worlds." He seethed. "I should have loaded his data for his failure. He actually _sent_ them to…!"

"And you didn't bother to pursue them and finish them off?!" Ryuuji whirled about on IceDevimon, eyes glowing crimson now. IceDevimon flinched, but to his credit didn't retreat. Instead he grinned.

"They _are_ in the Celestial Kingdoms now. That world imprisoned one of my species in spite of the sheer amount of data he devoured."

Ryuuji's eyes dimmed back to normal and he nodded. "Of course. It's one of the strongholds of Light after all. How foolish of me to think you could tread there without difficulty." Chuckling he returned his attention to the scene before him. A Stingmon had just landed, depositing the Digidestined of Kindness. Things were about to get interesting. "You lack subtlety IceDevimon. That is why your fellow brethren was imprisoned. I suppose I shall have to deal with the situation personally."

A slow smile spread across his face, a plan forming in his mind. "Yes… I think I should. The Holy Trinity have been…too long at peace after all."

"What do you intend to do?"

"Do?" His smile broadened until it threatened to split open his face. "Everything."

**###**

"So…you two have met," Sora began, warily watching Rika and Ken alongside their respective partners – Kyubimon and Stingmon – as they stood, locked eye to eye and prepared to fight. And fight Rika and Kyubimon most likely would. That was just how they were. Her match with them in cards more than told her enough about what her most likely response would be.

"Sora, this girl is a criminal," Ken replied. "She has openly attacked partner digimon and wild digimon that have bio-emerged into the real world with not only the _intent_ to kill, but she _has_ killed."

Thunderstruck. Sora could only describe the surprise she felt as being like that; a flash of lightning and a crash of thunder. She held firm to her emotions though, keeping them under control, and turned toward the red-haired girl in question.

"Rika? Is this true?"

The girl flinched under Sora's gaze, but presently met her eyes. They were angry…and afraid, sensing judgment for her actions.

"Rika?" Ken asked, tilting his head to one side. "Sora, you _know_ her?"

"She's Rumiko's daughter," Sora replied, raising a hand toward the man. "Now hush." She took a step toward the girl. "Rika? We've been friends for a long time. You can trust me."

"I…" Now Rika's gaze faltered and she glanced away, hands pulling into fists. "It…wasn't like that. Not…quite. I…" Her brow knotting together, she looked back up, her eyes blazing fiercely. "The idiot had a _hazard_ digimon and was keeping it as a pet! You know how dangerous those things are! The other digimon were just looking to wreck the place! What was I supposed to do?"

"That is _not_ your decision to make!" Ken said angrily, only for Sora to shoot a glare at him. Ken wasn't backing down though. "Sora! She's _loaded_ digimon! She would have done that to Guilmon and…!"

Sora missed the rest in her shock. She didn't even know who Guilmon was, but in her mind the word _loaded_ called forth a great many memories. _Terrible_ memories. TK…still so young, breaking down as the hope in his world vanished completely. The many friends and allies they lost along the way in the Dark War…

Rika did such a thing? _Rika?_ Sora's hands pulled themselves into tight fists. She felt her arms shaking as the memories continued to wash over her. Patamon… Whamon… Seadramon… Snimon… _So_ many others. None of them would be coming back.

"I'm going to have to take them in, Sora," Ken continued, his words snapping her back to reality. Reflexively, Rika reached for her digivice and cards. Sora spotted it and at once Sora made a decision.

"Biyomon?" she asked. Sensing her intent, Biyomon got into a combat position, spreading her wings out so as to take flight.

"Roger!"

It was time to show Rika a small trick she learned from the war.

A flash of light and a flurry of fire flew through the air as Biyomon's body rapidly expanded – a blazing, ghostly aura similar to Birdramon forming around her – and spread outward in one powerful beat of wings. The fireballs quickly disintegrated before they could cause any damage, but they made enough of a ruckus to cause both Stingmon and Kyubimon to hesitate while Ken and Rika both shielded their eyes, all thoughts of battle driven out of their minds at the moment.

_Flash digivolution is still useful sometimes when you want to make a point…_ she thought as Biyomon quickly regressed back to her Rookie form, the ghostly visage disappearing.

"All right, do I have both of your attentions?" she asked, glaring at both combatants. "No one is fighting here! We're going to talk this one out!"

"Sora! I have a job to…!" began Ken only to be undercut by yet _another_ glare from Sora, this one as violent and furious as a forest fire.

"I _know!_ But first _I_ need to get to the bottom of this before anyone starts slugging it out. I think we've had _enough_ fighting for one night! How about it?"

She turned toward Rika and Kyubimon. She held Rika's gaze for a moment before her eyes slid over to Kyubimon's azure ones. They looked so mystical… Frightening even, but behind them was a mind that was gauging her. She didn't doubt the digimon's loyalty to her partner. She wanted to trust her to help her resolve this situation.

_Help me,_ she spoke to her mentally. Not that she believed the Champion could hear her thoughts, but sometimes she did so anyway, if only to help herself believe she was getting through to them.

Taking a step closer to Rika, the kitsune digimon nudged her elbow. "Rika," she said quietly. The one word seemed to be enough as the girl turned toward her, an entire conversation seeming to take place between them in an instant. The world around them became dark, sucking in her vision until only the two of them remained.

_"I thought this was how digimon become strong… That this crest nonsense was just…stupid story stuff told to little kids!"_

" _I think we were wrong. It's not about winning Rika. I don't think it was ever about winning."_

_"But winning made you stronger. Loading data made you stronger."_

_"No…_ You _made me stronger."_

Sora blinked, feeling a bit dizzy. _Did…I just hear that?_ She shook her head in an attempt to clear it. _No… Couldn't have. But it feels so…real…_

Rika glanced at Sora, her eyes widening slightly. _"Renamon! She can hear us!"_

The world snapped back to normal and Sora rocked on her heels a bit before steadying herself.

"Sora?" asked Ken, taking a step toward her.

"I'm okay," she said. "I'm just…" She shook her head again and then, with a firm expression, took a step toward Rika and held out her hand. "May I?"

Rika looked at the offered hand uncertainly, before looking up at her. For the first time that she could remember, she saw fear in Rika's eyes; a wall. Dare she let her in? In to whatever it was that existed between herself and Kyubimon?

"Rika," she began, hoping to persuade her, "she's right you know. _You_ make your partner stronger. When you show that you care about others, you give them your strength, and in return they give you theirs as well. My friends and I could never have survived the War without that. The crests…were never the final source of our strength. We didn't really need them. We just…needed each other."

Her expression softened as she looked at the girl.

"Will you trust me, Rika? Please."

Rika trembled unnoticeably. _It's just the cold,_ she told herself, ignoring the rapid beating of her heart. _Nothing else._

Her brow furrowed, feeling a touch of anger pulse within her. The open hand. Accepting; offering so much, but most of all trust.

_Will you trust me, Rika? Please?_

_You mean like I trusted Dad? Like I trusted Mom?_

She could think of a dozen reasons to not take that hand, even with Ken standing there, knowing who she was now. Her normal life was over…but then she was ready to abandon it for the digital world. That strange, alien place where all of her greatest wishes could come true. Where she could find _him…_

_(…for a six-year old boy and an even younger girl)_

_(…for a red-haired girl singing a song on a swing set)_

After all, he was lost there, and everyone else had given up on him. Not that she cared, but that other world intrigued her. Why stay here where people could betray her trust when she could go to a world that could give her everything she wanted?

And to get there, she needed a partner. To get there she need Renamon. She needed Renamon to be _strong. She_ needed to be strong. Every digimon that stood between her and that goal were…

_("You two are our stepping stones.")_

Rika glanced over Sora's shoulder at Biyomon, and her breath caught in her throat.

"Can…" she began carefully, quickly looking away, her eyes evasive. "Can…data really have feelings? Are they really alive?"

Her mind almost revolted at that. Zeroes and ones. That's what she was told digimon were! Just computer bytes and nothing more. Why should she care about how they felt? They were no different from a sprite on a computer game!

"Would it surprise you that the man behind me asked the same question one?" Sora asked. Turning, Sora indicated him with a nod.

Beckoning Ken to approach, the man did so with a quizzical eyebrow.

"Rika Nonaka," Sora began calmly. "The Digimon Queen. Meet Ken Ichijouji, the Digimon Emperor."

At that, Rika's eyes widened in surprise. Surprise that quickly transformed into shock.


	32. Episode 7: Now You See It, Now You Don't

The operations center for Hypnos was dark as per the norm, broken only by the lights from the screens surrounding Yolei and Tally as they tapped away busily on their control panels, analyzing the network for any further signs of digimon intruding into the real world.

A scan caught Tally's attention and she quickly zeroed in on it.

"Did you catch that energy fluctuation?" she asked the purple-haired woman behind her.

"I'm already searching for the source," Yolei replied, her hands becoming a blur across her control panel. Tally sighed.

"This area sure had a lot of activity lately. What do you thinks going on?"

Yolei shook her head. There just wasn't a whole lot of information to go on. Shinjuku just seemed to become a hub of digital activity of late. She wondered if there was a correlation between Hypnos' organization around digimon research and the new activity. In the past, cities hadn't had the level of digimon bio-emerging that Shinjuku did now, and even today Odaiba – a known source for digital activity – didn't see the same amount of traffic.

"I think something _big_ is going down," she offered, taking a look at the readings. They were becoming…unusual. She furrowed her brow beneath her visor, taking in the scans.

"Like _how_ big?" Tally asked, sounding worried. She had never been a Digidestined or even a Tamer – those who used 'mass-produced' digivices during the war. She was a civilian in every sense of the word. She had every reason to be worried.

Not for the first time did Yolei feel conflicted about whether she should be jealous of Tally's innocence. The luxury of being worried and not knowing if she was up to the task. She never thought she would feel that way once upon a time in a life that was now so long ago.

Her control panel _beeped_ at her and Yolei expanded the image on the screens surrounding her.

"If these readings are correct, and I think they are, then we're going to get a level of bio-emergence unlike anything we've seen before."

**###**

Ryuuji stepped forth from a glowing portal, causing a thick mist to spill outward into the dark void. There was nothing to stand on, yet he stood as firmly as though he were on solid ground. He smiled. Manipulating quantum foam to create solid-feeling virtual particles beneath his feet that emulated not only surface tension but also gravity was child's play to him.

_As much as the child within that sphere would like to play,_ he thought, turning his gaze on a floating purple orb, its features covered with a pattern of octagons.

"Hello," he greeted the orb, taking a step toward it. "How is prison?"

_"Explain yourself,"_ said a youthful, demanding voice from within the orb. _"The Dark Area is sealed off to the outside world."_

"I have my ways," Ryuuji said, turning his head away slightly while maintaining eye contact with the orb. His expression had turned smug. "Would you like to get out?"

The sphere throbbed with a brilliant, violet light, revealing a small, humanoid figure curled up within, wings sprouting from its back.

"Of course you would," Ryuuji replied to his own question. "Why wouldn't you? To get back at the human world and the Digidestined who opposed you. The 'Legendary Warriors' who died helping them bring you down. The very pride that you were building your empire on – the foundation of your being – was cut down. You want to cut them down in return."

_"They are all gone,"_ the voice pulsed from within the orb. Ryuuji _tsked_ and wagged a finger at it.

"This world's time has become…different from what you remember. The Legendary Warriors are long passed away – though their powers are now sealed in separate spirits of human and beast – but the Digidestined are alive and well."

Another pulse from within. _"I have my own plan set in motion,"_ the voice said. _"I do not need your help."_

"Three of them are Digidestined," Ryuuji supplied. "They are not here by choice, but you don't want them knowing that you're awake once more."

_"The Hazard was taken from me,"_ the voice pulsed angrily, and this time the light took on an almost fiery brilliance to it. _"I cannot escape my prison so readily without it."_

"Yes, Izzy understood that when he helped seal it away from you," Ryuuji said, folding his arms over his chest. "I'm certain that the others are monitoring you in the real world as well. I could help you with that."

_"They won't keep me from getting out. I have no need for your help."_

_You truly are a stubborn one, aren't you?_ Ryuuji thought. _It's no wonder why you lost, and you were the strongest of the lot. All you know is how to fight on your own._

"All right," Ryuuji shrugged. "You try and get the Digital Hazard back on your own. In the meantime, I'm going to deal with the real problem."

Turning, he waved at the orb nonchalantly and disappeared through another portal as the air split open around him, leaving Lucemon, the Demon Lord of Pride, alone in his prison.

**###**

Takeru sat at his desk, looking through the contents of the folder dispassionately while in front of him, Ken and Davis stood at attention, the latter of whom looked irritated, but otherwise attempting to appear respectful – if only for the man next to him.

"These are some very serious charges," Takeru said finally, closing the folder and pushing it aside. "Partnered to a digimon without a license for an extended period of time going back months. Openly battling and deleting digimon. _Loading_ digimon…" Takeru's hand twitched at that, aching for the lighter sitting next to the folder. "Assaulting two partner digimon, one of which with the intention of deleting."

"She's admitted to her crimes," Ken said, nodding to the folder. Rika Nonaka's testimony was inside. The girl didn't have to do so, but for some reason Sora's presence had… _shamed_ her he supposed? Or perhaps it was due to Renamon's near-death condition prior to digivolving. "However, I should point out that she's only admitted to _attempting_ to delete one partner digimon. The others she had nothing to do with. In all likelihood that had to do with the IceDevimon that's been prowling the area."

"I see." Taking up his lighter, Takeru flicked it open. "Thank you, Ichijouji. That will be all."

"Hey, hold on!" Davis exclaimed, echoing Ken's surprise. "This girl goes out and kills digimon! Yeah, some of them are wild and have caused damage before, but back in the day we found ways to send them back to the digital world. Are you going to _do_ anything or are you going to just sit there with a dumb look on your face?"

"Careful, Davis," Ken frowned before looking at Takeru. "He's not wrong, you know."

Takeru's lighter flicked closed. "You know the game as well as I do," he replied simply, causing Ken to tilt his head to one side in confusion.

"I don't…"

"You've played politics before, Ichijouji, remember?" The lighter flicked open. Ken ran his words through his mind for a second before sighing. Takeru nodded. "Just like riding a bike. I'll leave her situation to you."

"I…" Ken blinked before bowing slightly. "Very well. Good day, Takashi."

"Huh?" Now it was Davis' turn to be confused as Ken turned and headed out of the room. "I don't…Ken!" Rushing after him, he shot one last glare at Takeru before joining the other man outside. "Ken! What gives, bud?" he asked, grabbing him by the shoulder. "What did TP mean by leaving this girl for you to deal with? He should be throwing her butt in some kind of jail or something shouldn't he?"

"I'm afraid it's not that simple," Ken replied stiffly, brushing his friend's hand off his shoulder. "Which you should remember since you dated her mother back in high school."

"For a little while," Davis said. "We broke up though. What's Rumiko got to do with this?"

"Everything I'm afraid," Ken grimaced.

"Dude, I'm pretty sure models can't stop the feds from arresting someone who's broken the law…"

"Rumiko's career has nothing to do with this," Ken said, shaking his head as they neared the elevators. "It has everything to do with the family that she and Rika belong to."

"Huh? I don't…"

"Rumiko's mother is Seiko _Hata._ You know what that means, right?"

"Uhhh…" Davis tilted his head, thinking carefully. "Maybe? I met Rumiko's mother when we dated, and…uh…now that I think of it, someone named Hata also invested in my company back when I was first starting out…"

"Exactly. Davis, I don't doubt that you worked hard and a lot of your success in the ramen industry is a result of that, but you would have had a hard time breaking into the business if not for that person who invested in your company. I suspect some of that may have been because of Rumiko's mother. The Hata family is one of the oldest and most influential families in Japan, Davis. I'm surprised you don't know that."

"I don't keep track of a lot of celebrities outside of sports. That's always been Yolei's gig. So…what? Takeru's not going to do anything because…" Davis thought for a second, wondering what the big deal was. _One of the oldest and most influential families in Japan…_ "What? Would this be like some kind of scandal?"

"Possibly," Ken acknowledged, stopping in front of the elevator and hitting the call button. "There could also be more to it. Rika may not be a member of the main Hata household, but she's of the bloodline. I'll need to do some research, but I'm pretty sure she's the _only_ member of that bloodline to have a digimon for a partner. They might end up seeing her as someone they can use. This is about politics now, pure and simple.

Davis groaned. _"Politics?!"_ he exclaimed, grabbing the sides of his head in frustration. "This is so stupid, Ken! She broke the law! She's killed digimon! Even if some of them were dangerous, she still wasn't exactly doing it to protect people. You're saying she's going to get off without being punished or anything?"

"No." Ken shook his head. "It just…complicates things. Takeru said he's leaving her to me, so I'm guessing that he…"

The ding of the elevator door opening cut him off as a thought came to mind. Turning, he looked back in the direction of Takeru's office.

_He didn't seem at all surprised by this,_ he thought. _Like…he expected this._

"Ken? You okay, dude?"

The feel of Davis' hand on his shoulder snapped the dark-haired man out of his thoughts. "Sorry," he apologized. "I guess…I'm just over thinking things."

Davis raised an eyebrow at him, silently inviting him to go into more detail, but Ken stepped into the elevator without further comment.

**###**

Carrying his book bag, Takato ran up the steps to the concrete bunker, a wide smile on his face. "Morning Guilmon!" he called out upon reaching the gate.

"Morning," Guilmon greeted happily, the tip of his tail twitching eagerly. "Guess what? Last night, while I was sleeping, it felt like I disappeared and went someplace else."

Takato raised an eyebrow as he unlatched the gate and pulled it open. "You didn't break out again, did you?" he asked. He did a quick inspection of the gate just to be on the safe side, but so far there was nothing that resembled the digimon's usual method of breaking locks.

"No," Guilmon replied with a shake of his head as he stepped outside of his home. "I stayed right here just like you told me to."

"So…uh…what are you talking about then?" Takato asked, closing the door behind them and starting down the stairs. "You said you went someplace else? Like where?"

"Nowhere," Guilmon replied. "Just that it felt like I disappeared and went somewhere I didn't know."

"Hmmm…" Reaching the bottom and stepping out into the park path, Takato tapped his chin, trying to understand what his partner was getting at. "Oh!" he said, figuring it out. "I get it. That was a dream!"

Guilmon tilted his head questioningly. "A dream? Like when I think of snacks?"

"No," Takato laughed. "It's like going into your own world inside your head."

"Do you dream?" Guilmon asked. Takato bobbed his head up and down exuberantly.

"Everyone does, but…"

"Is your dream world as boring as mine?" Guilmon interrupted. "All white and bright and empty?"

_Sheesh, he's got a lot of questions…_ Takato smiled all the same though. He loved Guilmon's inquisitive nature. "Mine's _full_ of stuff!" he said, spreading his arms out as though he were trying to encompass the world. "That's where I first thought of you, Guilmon."

The dinosaur-digimon's ears wilted slightly. "I must have the most boring one ever. Can I paint my dream blue?"

Takato couldn't help but laugh again as they exited the park and began to head down the streets.

"It's weird though," he said, "I've never heard of anyone talking about a digimon dreaming."

"Hm?" Guilmon cocked an eye at that. "But why? You said everyone dreamed. Even me, even though I have the most boring dream e…"

"Ah!"

Takato's sudden exclamation of surprise interrupted Guilmon's thoughts. Looking at the boy, he saw that is eyes and mouth had went wide with shock as he froze in place.

"Huh? Why's your face all funny?"

"Your legs!" Takato pointed at Guilmon, watching as they became transparent and appearing as though they were dissolving into something that he could only describe as television static. Acting quickly, he grabbed Guilmon by the arm and pulled with all his might.

"Hey!" Not understanding what was going on, but trusting his partner all the same, Guilmon allowed himself to be yanked away. Still however, he looked up at Takato, eyes questioning and worried. "What's the matter? Did I do something wrong?"

Takato looked over at the spot where Guilmon had just been. The static and ghostly appearance around his legs had vanished, returning him to normal. He felt better, but that didn't exactly make him any less concerned.

"No," he replied after a moment. "But something really weird is going on here."


	33. Episode 7: Meetings

Rika sat in her class, barely paying attention to the teacher's ramblings, wishing she were anywhere else but there right now. She thought instead of last night's battle, Sora's involvement, and the arrival of Ken Ichijouji and his Stingmon…the former _Digimon Emperor._

_"I was a monster back then,"_ he had told Rika as the last vestiges of the digital field lifted away from the park. _"I used digimon and was cruel to them beyond imagination. All because I didn't see them as living creatures who could be hurt just as I could be."_

She read bits and pieces about him from history classes, but the text largely glossed over him, except to inform the reader that he had been controlled by something called a 'Dark Spore', acquired during one of his previous adventures. Certainly nothing that he himself had been responsible for. Only the dark powers.

_Except he didn't seem too interested in pointing that out,_ she thought curiously. _If it wasn't his fault, then why would he blame himself?_

She hadn't been in the frame of mind to ask him then, still reeling from the emotional turmoil of nearly losing Renamon, of Sora learning about everything she did in secret – the attack against that Goggleheaded kid and his petmon.

_I did it because he had a Hazard digimon,_ she thought, clenching her pen in her hand. Hazard digimon were, by definition, unstable and dangerous. In the histories regarding the War, Lucemon was the defining Hazard digimon; dangerous, destructive and uncaring about who he hurt or what he destroyed on his path to power. Worst of all, they were _extremely_ powerful. Champion level digimon fell before Renamon with modify cards even when they were Virus types, but Guilmon at the Rookie level proved to be impervious to her attacks. She wanted him deleted then and there so he wouldn't become a problem she couldn't handle later.

The addition of loading his data was a simple bonus. One she didn't think anyone would mind regardless of what the law said. Hazard digimon were dangerous and that was that.

Yet… Thinking back to past events, was that the case here? He was often left on his own by his partner and caused no trouble that Renamon had ever told her, and he – as much as it galled her to admit it – even saved her life once.

Was this the kind of digimon who destroyed callously?

Rika lowered her head a little, her expression softening. _Why does this have to be so complicated?_ she wondered. She shook her head, unable to get rid of the feeling that she was overlooking something. Digimon were data after all. _Not_ like humans, no matter what Sora and Ken told her. Data could be programmed to act.

_But… Renamon risked her life to save me,_ she thought. _Digimon aren't programmed to do that. Not digimon partnered to Tamers anyway. Maybe with Digidestined but…not Tamers. If that's the case then…why would she do that? Can data really have feelings?_

She sighed, annoyed at how complex things have become in such a short period of time.

_Maybe… Maybe Guilmon just isn't programmed to fight. Maybe… Maybe there's a way to figure out if he is or not._ Her eyes hardening in determination, she began to think of a way to figure it out.

It had to be soon, before Ken made sure she couldn't be a Tamer anymore.

**###**

"Wait," began Henry as he and Takato stood outside in the hallway, waiting for class to begin. "Start at the beginning."

Takato had come searching for him – or at least _someone_ as he had been unable to find Ms. Kamiya – an alarmed, frantic expression on his face. He had been babbling nonsensically as soon as he found Henry, necessitating the boy to ask him to calm down and start over. Taking a deep breath, Takato did his best to relax before resuming.

"Okay," he began, "we were just walking and then, I…I don't know it was like half of him was there and the other half was starting to be rubbed out by an eraser!"

"Hmmm…" Henry rubbed a hand across his chin thoughtfully. "That's really weird. It couldn't be a digital gate or anything. They're all blocked. Maybe there's a hole in the Firewall and since digimon aren't from this world, maybe he nearly got pulled into it…or maybe the Firewall tried to eliminate him like the body gets rid of a virus."

Takato gaped at that. "But…Guilmon just got here! I don't want him to disappear! He just can't go back to the other side!"

"Momentai!" Terriermon said, climbing up onto Henry's shoulder. "The world I'm from… The world you're from… They're really both the same if you think about it."

Takato cocked a confused and annoyed eyebrow at Terriermon, obviously not happy with his rather philosophical perspective on the situation.

"Yeah…well…thanks professor, but I want him _here."_

"That may not be possible, Takato," Henry said in a quiet voice, causing the brunette to look at him quizzically as Terriermon flapped his ears.

"What? What are you trying to say, Henry? Do you know something? Tell me!"

"I just know that nothing can last forever, Takato," Henry replied cryptically. "Nothing. I'm sorry."

Takato glowered at Henry, not happy with the boy. Fierce defiance rose up inside him. "Well this can and it _will!"_ he exclaimed before turning and running off, leaving Henry to watch his retreating back, his expression regretful.

"Sorry," he repeated in a lower voice.

**###**

Takato's feet pounded furiously down the hall, his eyes growing hot from the anger burning in his heart. _How could Henry just give up like that?!_ he thought furiously. _After everything that's happened… After all the things the Digidestined have done… He just…gives up?! I don't…_

"Takato!" shouted Kari Kamiya's voice suddenly. "Look out!"

"Hey! Watch…!" came Gatomon's a split second before Takato crashed into something furry and hard before sprawling onto the school floor.

"Ow!" Takato yelled as the hardwood floor erased a layer of skin off his knee. Rolling over, he looked to find Gatomon getting back to her feet, glaring angrily at him. _Uh oh…_ "S-Sorry!" he quickly apologized. "I…I wasn't looking where I was going."

"Yeah, I saw that," Gatomon growled. "What's the big idea?"

"Gatomon…" Kari quickly interceded. Stepping between them, she knelt down and gave him a quick once over – wincing at the burnt skin speckled with small droplets of blood welling up from beneath the surface. "You'd better get that looked at," she said, helping the boy to his feet.

"Sorry," Takato again apologized. "It's just… There's something going on with Guilmon, and…I don't know what it is!"

Kari froze at the mention of the crimson dinosaur, thoughts of last night in her mind. Sora had called her _extremely_ late at night, apparently trying to corroborate Ken's story about the girl who attacked Takato and Guilmon. "Was it that girl…?" she began, only for Takato to shake his head.

"No. I…just don't know." Between stutters, he explained everything he told Henry. Kari pressed her lips together as she listened carefully.

"I've…never heard of something like that before," she said as soon as Takato finished his story. "All digimon that live in the real world haven't had any trouble with it. The worst that's ever happened for some of them is that they feel tired a lot."

"It takes a lot of energy to live here," Gatomon pointed out. "The real world has a lot more 'rules'. It's probably why we eat a lot."

"Guilmon's big for his level too," Kari observed.

"But…so is that Renamon!" Takato protested. He felt a flash of fear for the digimon – a bit of an oddity all things considered, but he didn't dwell on it for very long. Renamon was a digimon like Guilmon and she was partnered to someone. That was all he needed to know. "Do you think she's having the same problem now?"

Gatomon and Kari exchanged looks. "Ken and Davis can look in on them," Kari said carefully. "They know who she is now and where she lives."

"You… _They_ do?!" Takato's eyes became as big as saucers at this unexpected knowledge. "Where is she? I need her!"

That didn't come out the way he wanted it to, so caught up in his surprise he brain just didn't sync well with his mouth. He didn't notice it at first, but unfortunately for him, the brown-haired girl approaching from behind Kari did.

"You need a girl again?" Jeri asked, giggling, causing a sharp blush to erupt across Takato's face. "You're so silly, Takato. Is it the same girl as last time?" A cat-like smile grew across her face as she locked eyes with the boy. "Do you need help confessing?"

"Jeri," Kari said, turning to her. "Is there something you need?"

"I was just heading to the bathroom before class started," the girl confessed. "Sorry. I know it's wrong to listen in on someone else's conversation but…" She giggled again, blushing lightly.

"Better hurry along then," Kari suggested, and Jeri quickly resumed her course, giving Takato a cute little wave.

"If you need any help confessing to this girl, I can help," she offered, setting off another round of blushing from the poor boy.

"She's…so weird…" he said under his breath. Kari chuckled.

"I'm sure she has your best interests at heart, Takato," she replied. "I can't promise anything, but I'll see about figuring out a way to get help for Guilmon. Maybe it has something to do with how Guilmon was born. I mean, creating a digimon on your own isn't common at all, and as far as I know you're the first one to do it with just a notepad."

Takato's shoulders sagged at that as he became crestfallen. "So…you're saying…this is all my fault?"

"What? No! Takato…"  
"Kari, let me handle this," said Gatomon, stepping forward. "Stop beating yourself up, Takato. Right now you don't know _anything_ about what's going on with Guilmon. It's fine to be worried, but don't get crazy about it. You're not going to do Guilmon any good if you end up worrying so much that you jump to conclusions. Got it?"

"Ah…sure?" Takato replied, tilting his head to one side. He didn't exactly feel better, but he knew in his heart the feline digimon was right. He had to think of Guilmon and how to help him.

_Maybe… Maybe help that girl too, if her Renamon is having the same problem. Or had it? I think they've been partners for a while now, since she knows how to use modify cards and everything._ Now that he thought about it, digimon that were particularly large tended to revert to a lower stage to conserve energy, didn't they? He remembered reading something about that happening when it came to Digidestined digimon. Maybe it was something similar and Guilmon would have to reverse-digivolve to his In-Training form.

_Speaking of which…what_ is _his In-Training form?_ Takato wanted to kick himself. For all he knew half of Guilmon's problems were because his digivolution levels hadn't been drawn out either. _I am such a…a… Well… For lack of a better word…Gogglehead._

Kari looked at Gatomon with a soft smile, glad for her partner's pep talk to the boy before turning to him. "Are you going to be all right?" she asked. Takato nodded reluctantly.

"Yeah," he replied. "I guess."

"Hmmm…" Kari sighed despondently before shaking her head. "Anyway, about that girl, I'd rather that you not go looking for her or anything. There's no telling what she'll do right now. Do you understand?"

Takato nodded reluctantly.

"All right then. With that settled, I'd better get you to class." She sighed again. "the city wants me to talk about the tunnel beneath the park that's for use when the rain causes flooding. Of all things to talk about… It seems like a pretty useless lesson to me."

"Tunnel?" Takato asked, his ears perking up. Now that he thought about it, didn't Guilmon nearly disappear near the entrance to a tunnel? He couldn't remember very well…

"I mean," Kari continued, "everyone already _knows_ about the tunnel, right?"

"Um…I don't."

Kari raised an eyebrow at him before shaking her head, slightly amused. "Well, then I guess this will be a useful lesson after all."

**###**

Takeru walked down the street at a slow, casual pace, flicking his lighter open and closed with a soft click. As he did so, his cell phone buzzed in his pocket. Pulling it out, he hit the reply button.

"This had better be important," he grated.

_"Sir,"_ came the voice of Yolei on the other end. _"We're getting some strange readings and one of the researchers needs you to explain something to him."_

Takeru sighed, resisting the urge to massage his forehead in irritation. "I don't know why I bother explaining. None of them seem to understand what I say anyway."

_"So what should I tell him?"_ Yolei asked.

_That he's an officious little toady,_ he thought in his head, but outwardly he opted for something more tactful. "I'll be there shortly," he said, clicking off his phone. He berated himself for his irritation. After all, few people were familiar with the new programs he had and the technology behind them – or with how the digital world functioned in general, even after all these years. The sheer number of revisions and expansions that needed to be done to quantum mechanics since the discovery of the digital world were mind-boggling to say the least. Even he had to admit he had a hard time keeping up, and he had _Izzy_ tutor him through a great deal of it.

He was just about to resume walking when he abruptly stopped and turned around, frowning at his surroundings. "What was that?" he asked aloud, looking carefully, yet so far he found…nothing out of the ordinary. Just a street.

In the words of a poet regarding a certain raven, _Darkness there, and nothing more._

"Could have sworn I felt something," he muttered under his breath before resuming his trek.

_"Sir, we're getting some strange readings…"_ Yolei had said, causing him to quicken his pace.

**###**

"Oh, poor Guilmon must be bored out of his mind," Takato said to himself as he raced up the path to the dinosaur's home away from home. A part of him was afraid of what he might find…or rather what he might _not_ find. As he drew near though, he heard the sound of voices within the hut, one clearly Guilmon's while the other…

"Just one game of tag, _pleaaase?"_ begged a tiny, creampuff of a digimon bouncing up and down in front of Guilmon excitedly.

_Calumon… Great…_

Seeing the boy unlock the gate and step inside, Guilmon stood up excitedly. "Hey! Takato's home!"

"So, you guys staying out of trouble?" Takato asked, suddenly feeling exhausted. He was never sure what to make of Calumon, but the digimon was just one giant bundle of energy that he was never sure how to really deal with.

"Nope!" Calumon chirped, confirming his fears. Tilting his head to one side curiously, he knelt down in front of him.

"Calumon," he began, "just where do you hang out when you're not here? You must have a home, right?"

"I can go anywhere I want in the whole wide world!" Calumon laughed, as if Takato's question were the strangest question he had ever heard. "So I don't need to have a home, silly!"

Takato looked at him in concern. "Aren't you…lonely?"

"What do you mean lonely?"

"Like when you're by yourself making pictures of all kinds of cool monsters and stuff, but there's nobody around to look at your drawings with you," Takato explained, speaking largely from his own experiences. He had few friends – close ones anyway – and while he had gotten used to it, he sometimes felt the sting of being alone in a world that didn't seem to notice him or the things he liked to create. Surely that was something Calumon felt since he spent so much time looking for people to play with. Or did he just view humans and digimon alike as sources of entertainment meant solely to relieve his boredom?

"Hmmm…" Calumon gave Takato's words only a second of thought. "Nope! Never felt like that! Seems kinda silly."

With that, Calumon began to hop away, laughing, leaving Takato to stare after him, brow furrowed in confusion. _I just don't get that little guy,_ he thought.

"Hey," Guilmon said, likewise watching Calumon as he disappeared into the park. "You know, it _is_ silly."

Takato gave a light groan in exasperation before turning to Guilmon. "Okay… Well, never mind Calumon for a second," he began. "I've been thinking about what happened earlier today."

"Yeah?" Guilmon asked, turning toward his partner. Takato nodded.

"I talked to my teacher and her partner, and they said…well, they said a lot of things. They don't know exactly what happened, but they're going to see what they can find out."

"That's good," Guilmon nodded. "So what are we going to do until then?"

"Um… Well… One thing kinda got me thinking about that girl and her Renamon. Gatomon said something about how digimon past a certain size have a hard time maintaining their forms. I…didn't exactly design other forms for you when I drew you." Bringing out his small sketchpad, he flipped it open to something he drew during class – a tiny red ball with stubby legs, a tail, and Guilmon's trademark ears. It sort of resembled Viximon – Renamon's In-Training form – only minus the fox motif. He hadn't yet worked out a name yet, but there were some rough stats.

"I don't know if this will be enough," he admitted. "I don't know what'll happen if I scan this. I might make things worse…"

"Ah…" Guilmon cocked his head to one side. "What do I have to do with that girlmon though? And Renamon?"

"It's _girl,_ Guilmon. And she has a name. Anyway, um… Where was I? Oh yeah! Digimon size! Yeah, Renamon's about the same size as you, so if you're having problems but she's not then…maybe that girl knows a way to help you stay stable! I'd ask the Digidestined, but none of their partners are as big as you are."

"I don't know about this Takatomon," Guilmon said. "Every time we meet Renamon and that girl they keep trying to beat me up."

"I…guess," Takato admitted. "But…I just can't stand around here waiting for the others to help me help you. If this girl knows something, I'd like to see what I can do to get her help. And if not… If she doesn't know and Renamon is in danger…well, it wouldn't hurt to help."

"I'm pretty sure it would," Guilmon pointed out. Takato frowned.

"I…can't disagree with you there. What do you think, Guilmon? Is this a good idea?"

"I don't know," Guilmon said before nuzzling his partner. "But I'll go with you if you think it is."

Takato groaned. "Great. No pressure."

**###**

The bell rang, signaling the end of Rika's school day. Collecting her things, she quickly left the building, not even bothering to look at any of her classmates. None of them cared after all, so why should she be concerned about anything they did? Besides, she had much better things to do, like resolving the issue with that Hazard digimon before Ken reached his decision.

Heading toward the gate, she felt a faint presence tugging at the corners of her mind.

_"What is it, Renamon?"_ she asked mentally, the world darkening slightly around her.

_"Rika,"_ the vulpine digimon's voice replied in her mind. _"The Tamer with the Guilmon is in the area."_

Rika's eyebrows rose at that. _She_ was the one he was pursuing for once? Was he actually coming after her? Upon exiting the gate, she glanced around. She didn't see the pair yet, but they were most certainly nearby if Renamon detected them.

"Let's prepare an appropriate meeting for them then," she nodded, taking off at a run, heading for home so she could change in her battle gear.

**###**

"Ow! Don't be so grabby!" Guilmon yelped as three young girls wearing the gray colors of the Kagurazaka Girl's Academy poked and prodded him, excited at seeing a digimon at their school. Ignoring his protests, the kids giggled and continued to paw and poke, causing the Rookie to look at his partner helplessly. "Takatomon…!"

The boy in question was currently talking to another girl wearing the same uniform. His hands were up above his head as he mimed the appearance of Rika.

"She's…um…got her hair done up in a ponytail, and it's red…"

"Uh, huh," the girl smiled, pointing down the street off to her left. "There."

"Thanks, Takato smiled, breaking away from her with a grateful wave. "C'mon Guilmon!"

"Yay!" Guilmon exclaimed, pulling away from the girls that surrounded him and chasing after his partner, ignoring their woeful cries. They quickly left the academy behind, though Takato snuck a last look at it, the girl who helped him waving cutely at him.

"That's some school," he said aloud. "It's almost like a university building or something."

"What's a university?" Guilmon asked.

"Oh, just a place you go to learn more stuff they don't teach elsewhere. Man, she must be _really_ smart or something to go to a place like that." Turning away, he focused on the matter at hand. "Anyway, I guess this is the area where she lives, so keep your eyes peeled."

They kept on for a bit longer, the street being unusually quiet. Takato wondered if that was just his imagination.

_Well, I am looking to meet up with the same person who tried to kill Guilmon twice and load his data. That's not exactly something anyone would like. I wonder why she wants Guilmon dead so badly. Just because of the Hazard mark?_ He thought back to their initial encounter. She stressed that had been the issue at the time, though later encounters suggested other interests. It was hard to make sense of her motives.

_Maybe this was a bad idea,_ he thought before Guilmon abruptly came to a halt and drew up to his full height.

"Guilmon?"

Not responding, Guilmon took off like a bullet, and Takato quickly followed.

"Guilmon?" he asked as they took various twists and turns. "What's wrong? Man, why do I always end up chasing him? _Guilmon! Hold on!"_

The dinosaur finally came to a dead halt in front of an alley, but not because Takato had ordered him to stop. Joining his side, Takato looked down the alley and saw…

"Renamon!" he gasped. The vulpine digimon stood at attention at the end of the alley casually as though she had been waiting for them.

"Who were you expecting boys?" she teased. "Your mommies?"

"Very funny!"

Takato stepped forward, suddenly irritated by her tone. "Very funny!"

"I don't think I have a mommy, do I?" Guilmon asked, a bit confused by Renamon's statement. "Wait! Takato's my mommy!"

Takato palmed his face in embarrassment. "Ah, geez Guilmon… Don't call me that…"

"Why not?" Renamon asked. "You'd make a better mother than a _Tamer,_ the way you baby your digimon!"

"Hey!" Takato exclaimed defensively.

"Now are we going to fight?" Renamon continued. "Or are we going to flap our gums all day?

"Why do you wanna pound on Guilmon all the time, huh?" Takato asked heatedly. "It doesn't make any sense."

"It _would_ if you weren't such a coward," came a girl's voice from behind them. Spinning around, Takato and Guilmon found the same girl that had first haunted Takato's dreams and then haunted them in the real world. Takato found himself grasping for something to say… _anything._ Something tickled in the back of his mind…a memory from the fight in the parking garage. Renamon had shouted her name when Gargomon threatened her with his gun-cannons. _What was it? Ruki… Rukia…_

"Rika…" he whispered. The girl narrowed her eyes at him, inwardly surprised that the boy knew her name at all. She brushed it aside though and cut straight to the chase.

"Why do you keep following me around?" she asked, annoyed. "Are you in _love_ with me, _lover-boy?"_

Takato turned to face her more fully, annoyance back in full force. "I'm not following you around, okay?" he snapped, causing Guilmon to look at the two of them worriedly.

"Huh? Ah… Are you guys gonna fight?"

His frustration evaporating at Guilmon's question and turning into surprise, he turned to the dinosaur and pointed first at Rika and then at himself. "Who? Us?"

Guilmon nodded. Takato jerked nervously and then raised his hands suddenly in a placating gesture. "Nah! She's a girl and she'd kick my butt."

Rika smirked at that, feeling pleased by this acknowledgement of her prowess on the battlefield. _Guess he's not a_ complete _Gogglehead…_

"You know, fighting's not always the answer," Takato continued, turning back toward Rika. At once her smirk grew.

"The coward's credo," she declared. She didn't get why this kid and the other one were so dead set on _not_ fighting. Fighting defeated the forces of darkness so many years ago. Since when did _talking_ solve anything with a Devimon?

"Look," Takato persisted. "Maybe the two of us got off on the wrong foot. I'm Takato and you're Rika, right?"

"Yeah, so what?" Rika asked. _"What?"_ she repeated before he could answer, suddenly feeling a bit self-conscious. If he wasn't here to fight then…what was he here for? She honestly hadn't considered any other possibility. She wasn't sure how to respond. "Are you writing a book about me?" she continued, "or are you in love?"

Takato's shoulders sagged as he groaned in exasperation. "No…" he shook his head, wondering just how it was he got into these messes.

_On the bright side, she's not trying to delete Guilmon,_ he thought before looking back up at Rika. "I just…I was wondering if you could help me?"

For the first time since running into each other here, he saw something flicker in her eyes…a kind of… _curiosity._

And for some reason, he felt that was enough to know that she wasn't going to harm either of them.

"All right," she said, turning away and beckoning with a nod of her head. "Let's take this off the street though. The last thing I want is for anyone from my school think we're dating or anything."

Takato groaned again, this time causing Rika to smirk again.

"Jeez… Can't take a joke, can you?"


	34. Episode 7: Face to Face

Takeru entered the main Hypnos control room to find a powerfully built-man wearing a suit standing inside, hair slicked back in a professional manner. Takeru recognized him as the Chief Cabinet Secretary, one of his superiors.

"Hello, Takashi," the Chief Cabinet Secretary greeted with a curt nod. "Took your time getting here."

"Can I help you with something?" Takeru asked, flicking his lighter closed with a loud _click._

"I wanted to check in on your operations personally, Takashi," the Chief Cabinet Secretary replied, looking up at the wall of screens surrounding them. "Your reports are very detailed, but it's best to look in on things personally from time to time." Stepping closer to the wall, he folded his hands behind his back thoughtfully. "A whole plane of existence created from a network of interlinked electronic devices from around the world…" Bringing out his cell phone, he tapped its screen, causing it to light up. "To think it would be something as simple as this that nearly brought the world to its knees on more than one occasion. What's the saying? You can die by a thousand cuts?"

Takeru frowned at the man beneath his sunglasses. The Chief Cabinet Secretary turned off his phone and pocketed it.

"Never mind then. I would like to talk to you about the rogue digimon that have entered the human world."

"The firewall is not perfect," Takeru reminded. "Nothing is one hundred percent reliable. Ultimately digimon are a reality in our world in the same way that tsunamis or earthquakes are."

"I'm aware of that," the Chief Cabinet Secretary said. "I am curious as to why you haven't dealt with them. From your reports concerning the ice digimon – I believe you have recently identified it as an _IceDevimon –_ it seems that you have the ability to track its movements. After all, Hypnos monitors and records every exchange of information across the planet. You've noted numerous instances of this IceDevimon appearing…"

"…and then disappearing," Takeru interrupted. "All before we can pinpoint its location in the real world. We've been working on updates to our systems, but so long as the IceDevimon skirts the edges of the barriers between the worlds… As long as it is on _this side_ of the firewall, preventing it from entering and exiting our world presents a challenge. However, we have the situation under control."

"No, Takashi, you've got nothing under control. You've shown yourself to be powerless to stop those murders. That does not speak well for you, never mind that you've apparently allowed a _Hazard_ digimon to appear in Shinjuku."

Takeru's hand gripped his lighter all the more tightly at that. "We've had him under observation. He is partnered to one of the new generation."

"The Third," the Secretary nodded. "This does not sit well with the board you know. The Head of National Security doesn't view it well either."

"Really?" Takeru sighed sarcastically, feeling his patience start to stretch thin. From her seat above them, Yolei looked down in worry over his tone. "Gee, that never occurred to me. Listen, there's really no need for any of you to worry. Despite what you may think, we have the situation well under control…"

"What of the Mephistomon that breached the Firewall?" the Secretary asked.

"When last seen on our sensors, it was returning to the digital world," Takeru replied carefully. "The Celestials will take care of it there."

"I see," the Secretary said. "Regardless, as of now the government is interested in results, Takashi. You've shown yourself to be powerless to stop further digimon from breaking through. Find a way to prevent them from bio-emerging and find the ones that have already come through. Then _eliminate_ them. Otherwise, we'll be forced to find someone else to head this operation."

Takeru grimaced, but nodded reluctantly. "Yes sir," he said thickly.

**###**

Davis wandered his way around the room of the Nonaka household, looking at the family photos while behind him, Ken and Seiko spoke with each other. They had come here after their meeting with Takeru, looking to hammer out some details regarding the law and her granddaughter – what they _hoped_ to do at any rate. Seiko had no interest in involving her family members – they already ignored her and Rumiko and the longer it stayed that way the better. However, _something_ had to be done, on this there was agreement.

_"The law is at least clear regarding instances of digimon causing damage in the human world,"_ came the voice of Cody from Ken's cell phone – an old friend of theirs from their adventures and comrade in arms during the War now-turned-defense-attorney. _"The peace treaty at least acknowledges that humans have the right to use force and, in extreme circumstances, delete digimon in order to protect themselves."_

"We have no idea how 'extreme' these circumstances are though," Ken said. "By her own statement, she sought out digimon as soon as they bio-emerged and fought them. She even accosted one human-digimon partnership without provocation."

_"A Hazard digimon as you stated,"_ Cody said.

"Don't get technical over this, Cody," Ken frowned. "Guilmon wasn't doing anything wrong and he wasn't being threatening to anyone."

_"I'm just pointing out that Hazard digimon are likely to be discriminated against because of the war. Virus digimon as well. As a child, Ms. Hata's grandchild is more likely to act on that."_

"That doesn't make it justifiable," Seiko pointed out.

_"I didn't say it was. Just that it has to be taken into consideration in the event that this goes to court._ If _it goes to court. Enough people remember Odaiba after all, both before and during the War to make a difference. Your granddaughter won't be the only one on trial. So will the partner to Guilmon and Guilmon himself because of Guilmon being a Virus type and being marked by the Hazard sign. The court of public opinion will destroy them too._

Davis sighed and tuned them out. He hated talking about the law since it complicated too many things and he felt awkward being here again. He hadn't expected to after he and Rumiko broke up after their handful of dates in high school.

_Small world after all,_ he thought to himself, stopping at one photo in particular of a red-haired man with amber eyes and a confident grin plastered across his face. Beside him was a little red-haired girl wearing a purple dress, legs kicking as she attempted to get her swing going. The smile on her face was wide –as wide as any child could be when they were happy – and her eyes were sparkling. A far cry from later photos where she became increasingly angry looking.

_Sheesh,_ he thought, stopping at a photo of her with a trophy, wearing a black T-shirt with a skull on it along with a black jacket, and a look on her face that would have killed entire crops. _What changed?_

"She looks mad, huh?" DemiVeemon observed from his spot on Davis' shoulder.

"DemiVeemon…" Davis warned in a harsh whisper, remembering whose house they were in.

"Sorry," DemiVeemon apologized. "But she kinda does. Look at that frown! That's a whole lot of thunder clouds on that face."

"Oh man…" He sighed before looking back at the photo. "Man… I don't get it. What could have made this girl so angry that she'd go hunting down digimon?" He spotted a photo of Rika at the age of 5 crammed between Sora and Biyomon, flashing a _V_ sign at the camera, a gap in her teeth where she had lost a tooth.

Seiko turned to look up at Davis, her lips pressing together tightly. "What indeed?" she said, more to herself than to anyone else. Getting up, she knuckled her back, enjoying a small _pop_ it made before looking at the two. "Would either of you like something to drink?" she asked. "I think we could use a bit of a break."

Ken sighed. They _had_ been at his for the past two hours now without letup. Glancing at the clock, he wondered when Rika would be home. He swore that he heard someone arrive earlier but for all he knew that could have been the mailman. Shrugging to himself, he looked down at Wormmon.

"What would you like, buddy?"

"I'll take a soda," Wormmon replied, flexing his claws eagerly.

"And the rest of you?"

"I'll take…!" began DemiVeemon, only to be cut off as Davis shoved a hand in front of his face.

"He's on a diet," the man said, frowning at his partner. "I'm fine too."

"Ken?"

"Some tea, thanks," Ken replied.

Nodding, Seiko headed out of the room. As soon as she was gone, Ken ran a hand through his hair and groaned.

_"This is quite the difficult position we're in,"_ Cody said over the phone, having heard the groan.

"You said it," Davis replied, ignoring DemiVeemon's pouting glare. "Man, who would have thought that Rumiko was related to such a high class family? Jeez… She never said anything either."

Ken raised an eyebrow at Davis. "You met her mother when the two of you were dating and you didn't know?"

"Uh… Well, I didn't pay attention to that kind of stuff back then. We were too busy saving the world after all."

Ken chuckled. "Right Davis. Right."

**###**

Takato's eyes grew wide as Rika led them into her front yard and over to the porch whereupon she set herself down, taking off her shoes as she did so.

"All right," she said, folding her legs together. "You want to talk, talk. Just as long as it's not anything weird, got it?"

"Uh…" Takato tilted his head to one side while Guilmon became enamored with a butterfly landing on his nose. "Weird like what?"

"I don't want to hear anything about your stupid dream, is what," Rika snapped, her eyes narrowing dangerously at him as if to ask, _Are you really that dense?_

"Ah… Oh!" Takato blanched and looked away, embarrassed. "Yeah, I…did say that, didn't I? That…does count as weird, doesn't it?"

Rika simply stared at him, her expression clearly annoyed. Renamon took position at the far end of the porch, keeping an eye on Guilmon as he proceeded to sniff at some flowers, making his way over to the koi pond. She glanced at Takato, causing him to shift uncomfortably under their gaze.

"I admit I saw you in a dream awhile back," he began, "and that's what's been really bugging me because I don't know what it means." Raising his hands in a placating gesture, he moved to cut off any further annoyance on Rika's part. "But, don't get the wrong idea, I'm not following you around cause of that, I just had some questions about digimon, okay?"

"All right kid, don't get your underwear all bunched up," Rika said sarcastically, causing Takato to scowl.

"What do you mean kid? We're the same age." he protested.

Rika's face snapped over to him, her eyes stern.

"I'm calling you kid because you don't know anything about anything. You show up talking about seeing me in a dream! Do you know how weird that is?"

Takato's expression softened, feeling bad for having upset her in that way. "I'm…I'm sorry. I just thought that…well…maybe we could work together."

"We can't," Rika said, her voice brooking no argument. Before either of them could say anything though, the sound of Seiko's voice echoed across the yard.

"Rika! You home?"

"Uh!" Rika flinched slightly, becoming a bit uncertain. She didn't know if Sora had mentioned anything to her grandmother about her 'extracurricular activities', leaving her unprepared to decide whether Renamon should stay out in the open or not.

The vulpine digimon however took the decision out of her hands as she suddenly dashed across the yard, grabbed Guilmon, and then raced out of sight with the crimson beast, leaving Takato flummoxed at the ease with which she disappeared him with.

_She… She could have taken him out anytime she wanted…_ he thought, shivering a little before turning just in time to see Seiko open up a slide door. She was a bit older than his mother, though still young enough where his first thought was that she was Rika's mother. She held a certain calm majesty about her and when her eyes lighted upon him, they seemed to brighten ever so slightly, although a touch of confusion lay within them as they flickered briefly over to Rika.

"Oh, hi. Uh, I'm sorry. I'm just not used to Rika bringing boys home. What's your name?"

"Takato," the goggle-wearing boy replied earnestly while a slight blush crossed Rika's face. The way her grandmother had spoken about Takato's presence almost seemed to…imply something. Something _other_ than just a simple visit.

"He's not going to be here long," she said quickly before glowering at Takato. "You're not," she said to him under her breath.

Seiko smiled, apparently guessing that Rika was trying to save face at being 'discovered'.

"Why don't I make a couple snacks for the two of you? It'll only take a second to pop some cookies in the oven. How would you like them, Takato?"

"Thanks!" Takato chirped before he could even think. This only seemed to aggravate Rika.

"That's okay, Grandma," she insisted. "He's not staying!" She turned to Takato again, her face darkening. "You're _not!"_

Seiko's smile became almost catlike at her granddaughter's insistence. "Well, bye," she said, starting to slide the door closed. She paused to give Takato another look. "Hope you come see us again."

"Sure!"

The door closed with a gentle click. Closing her eyes in exasperation at her grandmother's antics, she tapped a finger on her leg. "You're not," she said just in time for Guilmon to declare, _"Let go!"_ before spilling out onto the lawn, Renamon having finally released him.

"You okay, boy?" Takato asked as Guilmon stood up and shook himself off.

"Yeah…" the reptile whined, looking at Renamon warily. He would have said more but he didn't want to start a fight with her.

"Um, so listen..." Takato began, turning back to Rika. "What I wanted to ask you was whether or not digimon turn back into data? I mean do they ever just disappear and go back to their own world?"

"Of course," Rika said succinctly as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Not like when you defeated Vilemon," he clarified. "But just like for no good reason?

"Digimon are just data anyway, so...probably."

Takato looked depressed, wondering what was going through her mind. "Doesn't that…make you…sad at all?"

"Hm," Rika shrugged nonchalantly before glancing over at Renamon. She thought of Biyomon and the battle last night, how seeing her partner so horribly injured yet willing to sacrifice herself for her safety. She looked away, becoming uncertain as to what her thoughts were on the matter.

_I'm not going to explain myself to this stupid kid though,_ she thought.

"The reason I ask," Takato resumed, sensing that the conversation had become awkward and wanting to break the silence, "it's that…something weird happened to Guilmon earlier today. Like…he was being erased or something. He seems to be okay now but… I don't know. It might be because I created him or…"

"Hold on," Rika interrupted. _"Created?_ You're saying _you_ created that dino-boy?"

"Uh…yeah. I designed him the day I got my digivice and I…well, I scanned them and it created him." Takato dug into his pants pocket and produced his original drawings, handing them to Rika, who promptly scowled at their crudeness. Taking them, she undid the rubber band and went through it, impressed by how detailed Guilmon's statistics were in spite of the low quality of the drawing.

_This…could be helpful,_ she thought before suddenly catching herself. She looked up at Takato's eyes, violet meeting red. _Last night… I was in his spot…_ She glanced back down at the drawing, taking note of the absence of the Digital Hazard symbol. A quick perusal through the notes revealed nothing about it either.

"No Hazard mark, huh?"

"Yeah, I don't get that," Takato shrugged. "It's kind of cool though, but…still weird."

"Why are you asking me about this for?" she asked. "Shouldn't you be talking about this with your _Digidestined friends_ or something? Like that Ken guy who helped you in our fight?"

She winced inwardly at her acknowledgement of their battle, but all the same she didn't apologize for it.

"Well, that's the thing. I don't have a cell phone so I can't just call them anytime I want to, especially since I haven't told my parents about Guilmon yet. And…um…I'm not sure they would know because…"

"Well?" she asked as he hesitated. "Spit it out already. I don't have all day."

"Guilmon's bigger than the average Rookie," Takato said. "So is yours. I don't think I've heard of any digimon as big as ours at the Rookie level staying in the human world. I guess I'm wondering if Guilmon's size is the issue and if you knew anything."

"Renamon's never had any problems since she got here," she said. "So maybe it's because Guilmon's not a natural digimon." She tapped the drawing before handing it back to him. "Maybe it's because of whatever it was that gave him that Hazard mark."

"I…" Takato blanched as he took his sketch back, not liking that explanation. He looked at Guilmon in alarm. "You mean…he could go at any moment? That this is my fault?"

"It's just a bunch of 'maybe's', kid," she sighed. This 'Takato' seemed far too sensitive for her to ever like. "For all we know it could have been a one-time freak event."

Takato continued to look at his partner in worry for a moment longer before sighing and shaking his head.

"You're right I guess. I…" He paused, finding himself at a loss for anything else to talk about. He got what he came for, more or less, and that was that. There didn't seem to be anything more to be said since she clearly didn't want him around. "I'm sorry to have bothered you," he finished, giving her a slight bow. "Guilmon!"

Rika raised a curious eyebrow at the boy as she got up. He should have every right to be angry with her, yet he wasn't. He certainly seemed to be wary enough due to past history, but not quite afraid either. Not to mention that he had sought her out for help first before anyone else. It wasn't the sort of thing she would have expected from him.

As Guilmon joined him and headed toward the gate, she followed him, slipping on her shoes as she did so. A part of her wondered why she was seeing him out. Their business was ended. There wasn't anything else for them to do.

"Ow! Stop pushing!" Guilmon complained as Renamon gave him a slight shove.

"Move _faster_ then," she replied.

Exiting the gate, Takato turned and gave Rika an awkward smile. "Well, thanks Rika. It's not every day you get to meet your _dream girl."_ Takato barked a laugh and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. I just couldn't resist."

"Uck!" Rika grimaced in disgust. Deciding that was his cue, he waved.

"Bye."

"Renamon…" Guilmon waved at the vulpine digimon. "Bye-bye."

_Harrumphing,_ Renamon turned her head away in disgust as well. Rika watched them go curiously for a moment before deciding one last thing needed to be said. "Hey!" she called, coming out into the street.

"Yeah?" Takato and Guilmon both turned. Glaring at them, Rika swept a leg up and kicked at them.

"You mention that dream again and I'll send you to dream land for _good!"_

With that, she headed back into her yard and closed the door behind her, leaving Takato to frown in her direction.

"Man, she can't take a joke."

**###**

"Stupid Gogglehead," Rika grumbled to herself as she headed back toward the house. "What a waste of time."

Kicking off her shoes, she slid open the door to her room and turned on the light. No sooner did she do so did the sound of her grandmother echoing through the yard reach her.

"Rika? Are you there? I'd like to talk to you!"

Sighing, she headed back outside. "I'm out here, Grandma," she called back as Renamon disappeared. The door to the other side of the house slid open, revealing Seiko.

"I'm sorry, I didn't want to bother you while you had a friend over, but…" She pressed her lips together, looking around the yard. For a second, Rika had the eerie feeling she was looking for Renamon.

"We need to talk," Seiko said finally as behind her Davis and Ken both revealed themselves.

**###**

"Got another weird reading," Yolei reported, as a glaring red and black orb flickered across the screens. Takeru flicked his lighter open and closed, feeling somewhat pleased by this development.

"For once it's not another digimon," he said.

"This was what I was talking about. I've never _seen_ data like this."

Takeru frowned as he studied the phenomenon. Something…a strange icon that reminded him of a reactor, pulsated in the center of the orb.

"Send a Tracer," he said.

"Already on it," Yolei replied, finishing typing in her commands. On cue a Tracer flew across the screen toward the orb, only for a digital representation of a mist to suddenly appear, trapping the Tracer and shattering it.

"What?!" Yolei gasped in surprise.

"The Tracer was absorbed," Takeru breathed in amazement. That had never happened before _. "What_ is going on?"

**###**

"That Rika's a barrel of laughs, huh?" Takato asked Guilmon as they walked down the street together, the sun finally dipping behind the horizon and plunging the city into darkness.

"What about Renamon?" Guilmon asked. "Her idea of a joke is to punch me in the funny bone."

Takato laughed at that mental image before sobering a little. "Man, I was hoping that Rika would have more answers for me. Something that would make this problem go away."

"Hm?" Guilmon asked, tilting his head to one side.

"I've always loved digimon and i always thought it would be cool to have one of my very own and then like magic you appeared and everything was great. But now I'm not even sure if you're going to be able to stay with me or not, Guilmon. I guess I thought if I could learn more about digimon I'd be able to stop whatever's trying to erase you." Takato swallowed, feeling uncertainty growing in his heart. "I'm scared Guilmon."

Guilmon tilted his head to one side, not really getting why his partner felt so scared, but he did recognize that he felt it all the same.

_Maybe I can cheer him up?_ he wondered.

"You know what?" the crimson dinosaur began. "Calumon told me that being scared is pointless. It's kind of like trying to ice skate on sausages."

Coming to a halt, Takato turned toward Guilmon and smiled. "I guess you're right, Guilmon, but I just wanna spend as much time with you as possible, you know?

"Yeah," Guilmon replied with a gleeful smile of his own. "Hey, let's do something really fun tomorrow!" he continued, resuming his walk past Takato. "We could play tag until we dropped or eat until we can't move!"

Takato was about to follow him when suddenly he gasped. As Guilmon moved past him and immediately his lower half began to blur as static swept over him. "It's happening again! Guilmon!"

Guilmon stopped dead in his tracks and turned toward Takato. "I feel weird," he moaned, the static starting to climb up his body. "I must be dreaming again, right?"

"G-Guilmon…" Takato whispered, uncertain as to what to do. _This is because of the Hazard, right? It's activating or something…_

"Everything's fading," Guilmon moaned again.

"No…"

"I think I'm going away…"

Takato grabbed hold of Guilmon, hugging him tightly as though that would be enough to prevent him from vanishing.

"No, Guilmon, please hold on!" he cried, tears bursting forth from his eyes. "I just got used to having you around! I can't imagine life without you anymore! You can't go!"

The static continued to climb until it encompassed his entire body. "I'll…I'll do my best to stay here…" were Guilmon's last words as he faded into a ghostly shadow. His body losing all solidity, Takato fell through him. Blinking through his tears, he looked up to find his partner reduced to a series of glowing red lights that were slowly floating away.

"Guilmon…" he choked as the light of his partner floated away into the night sky. "Please…don't leave me…" A well of emotion erupted from deep within as the last red spark vanished. _"GUILMON!"_

He sat there, panting as the tears continued to pour down his face unrestrained. "No…" he whispered. "He's gone. Guilmon's gone." Forcing himself up to his feet, he looked down at the sidewalk, bittersweet pain still throbbing in the back of his throat. "I can't believe it. It's like he was never here, and there's nothing I can do."

As if in response to his despair, his digivice began to beep at him.

_Why bother?_ he asked himself, but his arms rose to pull it out of his shirt mechanically, the habit now so engrained in him. He blinked in confusion to see the compass function swinging, but not so wildly this time.

"What's this?" he asked aloud, the pain suddenly vanishing. Did he dare hope?

"That's Guilmon's signal!"

It had to be! Who else could his digivice be reacting to? What was more it was pointing in a specific direction now. Following the arrow, he saw a sign next to a door. In dawning realization, he began to piece together what was going on around here.

Whatever it was, it wasn't anything specific to Guilmon, but instead it had to do with…

"The tunnel!"


	35. Episode 7: A Storm Gathering

Tai awoke in a sea of grass, wind playing across his face and getting under his shirt. Sitting himself up with a groan, he looked around.

"Where…am I?" he murmured, his voice coming out as an exhausted slur. Memories, disjointed, floated through his mind; a confusing, jumbled jigsaw of a puzzle. It wasn't until he saw the ruined remains of a Trailmon's car section lying nearby, smoldering, did the pieces arrange themselves in something approximating the right order.

"Oh…yeah…" he groaned, rubbing a hand across his face. "That's right. A MetalTyrannomon attacked us and then we were all falling to the digital wo – the others!"

His eyes widening in shock, he swung his head around, hoping beyond hope to find some sign of his fellow companions. Presently he didn't see anyone who was immediately nearby, human or digimon, nor did he opt to start calling for anyone.

He was in the digital world after all, and even though this portion of it belonged to the realm known as the Celestial Kingdom, even here, governed by the Light, could dark or wild digimon be attracted to him by the sound of his voice. Pulling out his digivice, he immediately began scanning his surroundings for other digivice signals.

"No…" he whispered, not picking up anything. "It can't be…"

Lowering his digivice, he took a look around. There was nothing within the range of a couple of clicks except for trees, grass plain and the Trailmon.

_Not detecting the others doesn't mean much right now,_ he thought quietly to himself. _We were in outer space after all. They could have landed anywhere._

The thought did not comfort him. Just as he had before, so many times in the past, he had to weigh his priorities. Find Matt and Izzy, or locate a way to get to the real world. He knew there was a Firewall in place, but that didn't mean he couldn't find a way there. Surely the Trinity that made up the ruling body of the Celestial Kingdom knew of a way that Gennai didn't, or at least could point him in the right direction.

As much as he trusted Gennai, he didn't believe that the digital human would tell him everything. When he was younger, it was often that he didn't and much of their relationship had been on a 'need to know' basis.

Collecting himself, he set off toward the ruined remains of the Trailmon's cabin section, deciding that he should see if there was anything he could salvage before setting off to see what he could find.

No sooner did he do so, Tai stopped and looked around once more, frowning.

_That's weird,_ he thought before shrugging his shoulders and resuming his course. _For a second there I felt like I was being watched…_

**###**

Through a globe of glowing light, Tai was indeed being watched. A powerfully limbed, pink and white-furred creature with round, black eyes, long ears with a pair of gold rings attached at their base

A _human_ resided in the Celestial Realm. Correction: _Humans._ Plural. Casting its massive hand over the orb, the image changed to a blond-haired man walking alongside a Gabumon, and then changed again to a red-haired man carrying a computer.

This was not supposed to be.

_"It's a sign,"_ whispered a voice from deep within Cherubimon's mind. _"Ophanimon and Seraphimon have always preferred the human digimon over the beast. Now they seek to bring the humans over to their side…"_

The color of his fur fluctuated, becoming a darker pallet of purples and greens. The rings around the ears – holy in nature – vanished while the ears became a tattered, diseased mess. The round eyes, once child-like in appearance, became glowing scars, burning with fire. Cherubimon doubled over in pain and anguish, thoughts of Ophanimon and Seraphimon… _together…_ tore at his heart.

_No… No!_ his tattered mind insisted, fighting against the well of darkness rising within him. With an effort, his form shifted back to its previous pink and white. _I must…purge myself of these thoughts. This…darkness. I…I must… For the beast digimon under my protection…_

Breathing shakily, Cherubimon passed his massive hand over the orb, revealing the man with the laptop computer. He seemed to be the best candidate to investigate first. With the computer, perhaps he could even send the three humans back to the real world.

_"That's what they'll want you to think,"_ whispered a voice from the depths of his mind once more, and his fur shivered.

**###**

The bakery closed down and the front lights closed, Mie Matsuki set Takato's dinner plate in his usual spot at the table before seating herself next to her husband. Takehiro looked at their son's spot, concern in his eyes.

"I hope Takato's all right," he said. "He's never ben out this late before, has he?"

"Oh, we were the same way when we were kids," Mie laughed, picking up her chopsticks and poking at her food. "Always running around… Playing… Losing track of time…"

"I vaguely remember," Takehiro raised an eyebrow in mild amusement, though worry still beat in tune with his heart. "That was about the time the dinosaurs died off, right?"

"Oh stop!" Mie chastised with a playful smirk. "We're not _that_ old!"

"I hope he's okay though," Takehiro repeated, leaning forward and looking at Takato's plate. Their son tended to be good about getting home at a decent time. Even when he was late, it was never after dinner had already been served.

"I'm sure he's fine," Mie said confidently. "I may be harsh on him from time to time, but I do trust his judgment."

"Yeah…" _You don't trust him with a cell phone or a pet though,_ Takehiro thought, but he didn't voice it out loud.

"But since he's not here," Mie giggled, "let's eat all the ice cream we saved for dessert and tell him it melted."

Takehiro winced. "Um…I already ate it," he admitted, earning him a stink eye from his wife.

_Takato, please be all right,_ he thought beneath Mie's dark glare.

**###**

The phone at the door rang and rang as Suzie merrily danced over to it, arms splayed out like a ballet dancer. Pushing a small seat cushion beneath the phone, she hopped up onto it and lifted the receiver. On the screen next to the phone, the face of a boy wearing goggles lit up.

_"Hello?"_ began the boy belonging to the screenshot. _"My name is Takato and…"_

"Hello, hello, hello," Suzie sang, interrupting the boy.

_"Stop saying hello and get Henry!"_ Takato exclaimed irritably. His nerves were already frayed badly enough as it was. He didn't have the patience to deal with Henry's kid-sister. However, his manners, deeply engrained in him, caught hold and he quickly did a turnaround. _"Uh… Please?"_

Suzie turned away from the phone, annoyed that she had been yelled at for no reason. "It's some angry kid for Henry!" she shouted, slamming the phone back onto the hook.

_"I'm not ang-!"_ came Takato's words just before he was cut off. Hopping down, she strolled away, humming softly to herself while Henry and Terriermon entered the room, raising an eyebrow at the hung-up phone.

"Suzie?" Henry asked. "I thought you said someone called for me."

"I did!" Suzie chirped, making her way over to the couch where her stuffed dolls were. "And he was _very_ rude!"

"It sure doesn't look like someone called," Terriermon observed right before the phone began to ring again. "Oh! It looks like Takato's trying to get a hold of us."

Giving his little sister an annoyed look, Henry went on over and answered. "Sorry about that," he began, only to jerk as Takato began to spill out a half-thousand, jumbled mess of words that he only caught one in a hundred of.

_"Guilmon… Disappeared… Ms. Kamiya… Rika… Tunnel…"_

"Whoa," Terriermon said in awe. "He's lost it."

"Terriermon…" Henry sighed, massaging the bridge of his nose.

**###**

"I'm going to make this clear," Ken said to Rika as they sat around the table. "You have broken laws here. Some of those laws involve interdimensional relations with the ruling powers of the digital world. Treaties that were signed and paid for with human and digimon lives. By your actions you have put this entire _world_ in danger. There are forces working in the digital world that would _not_ take kindly to you deleting digimon, and if you had destroyed just _one_ of their agents…"

"War of the worlds," Davis finished, punching one fist into an open palm. The sound of its impact was a tiny thunderclap that emphasized his choice description.

Rika's head lowered at their words, but she didn't say anything. She didn't know _what_ to say. Her feelings were already a muddled mess. First Sora and now her grandmother, and it turned out that her grandmother had been aware of her partnership with Renamon for quite some time already. How many times had she known she was being lied to? Why did she never say anything?

_It's not like I was going to say anything,_ Rika thought to herself. "So let me guess…" she began in a low voice. "I'm under arrest?"

Ken and Davis both looked at each other and then back at Rika. "If you answer one question, no," Ken said.

"One question?" Rika looked up, confused. "I don't understand."

"Here's how I see it, Rika," Ken said, folding his hands together and leaning forward. "You are obviously talented in this field; otherwise you wouldn't have lasted this long with a digimon only at the Rookie level, particularly during that battle with Mephistomon. Your grandmother has vouched for your character, and I don't believe that your digimon would have done anything that she did without your say-so. She strikes me as being very loyal toward you."

Ken looked past Rika and out toward the front yard. Wormmon was presently keeping watch at the door, but as yet neither of them saw anything out of the ordinary. Renamon hid herself very well.

_It's no wonder it took us so long to figure out that she was deleting digimon…_

"My question to you is why did you do it? Attack digimon at all, I mean? And load them? Loading especially… That is a… _very_ serious to do to a digimon."

Quite serious. It had been something done during the war – by _both_ sides of the conflict. The forces of the Dark Ocean utilized it first, but the forces of Earth – primarily the Tamers forces meant to assist Digidestined in battle – turned to it as well once they saw its benefits. The practice ultimately had been made illegal during peacetime and amongst civilians due to what it entailed for digimon.

Digimon had an indefinite lifespan. After being deleted, they quite often returned to Primary Village to be resurrected. This wasn't always the case, as the digital world had an afterlife of sorts that purged some digimon and sent them off to the Dark Ocean – a realm normally cut off from other dimensions – but it occurred often enough to be a rule. Dying in the real world complicated things however as first there was no Primary Village for digimon to return to, and data in the real world was bound by the rules of the material far more than it would be in the digital world. Digimon that had their bodies destroyed while in the real world became trapped.

During the Siege of Odaiba following Myotismon's invasion of the real world, digimon died by the scores, chief of whom was Wizardmon, whose memorial now stood in front of Odaiba's television station. Wizardmon still occasionally made an appearance, but it was extremely difficult for him to manifest for any significant length of time when he did. Even after all these years, scientists had yet to determine a means to release him.

In both cases however, a digimon's consciousness survived. The War however showed that there was a means by which a digimon could be killed permanently, bypassing their functional immortality.

Having another digimon download their data and incorporate it into their body's digital structure.

Rika lowered her head again at this, staring down at her hands where they rested on the table. She was shaking a little. Everything she worked for…she was going to lose it all. She felt that, deep down in her heart she felt she was going to lose it all. Her chance to leave and go to the digital world; to go find her father.

Renamon.

She could still see the beaten way she looked when the Dokugumon fought her and it caused her to curl her hands into tight fists. Her nails bit into her palms. Her…

…hand was covered gently by that of her grandmother.

"Could you give us a second?" Seiko asked, releasing Rika's hand as she stood up. "This is a lot for her to take in after all."

Ken and Davis both looked at each other worriedly, but Ken nodded. "All right," he said. "Just don't take too long."

"We won't," Seiko smiled, indicating for her granddaughter to follow her to the kitchen. Still shaking, Rika got up and followed her.

As Seiko closed the door behind them, Rika looked at her, heart beating in terror.

"Grandma…" she began, only for Seiko to place a hand on her shoulder and shake her head gently.

"How about some tea?" she suggested, turning on the faucet. "I find that it keeps me calm during times of stress."

"Uh…yeah," Rika replied, frowning at the older woman. _I know. You've said that to me before._

Pulling out a teapot, Seiko began to fill it up. "Talking helps too, you know," she continued. "I know you aren't the sort who likes to talk." She turned at Rika and offered her a smile, "but it does help relieve pressure. You probably got that from me. You're not like your mother and father in that regard."

Rika flinched slightly at the mention of her father and looked away. Seiko eyed her for a moment before returning to her task, switching off the faucet.

"To think that my granddaughter would become a Digidestined…" she continued, turning on the stove and setting the pot down on it. "I suppose I should have seen it. Your father was…very focused on studying the digital world back when he was married to your mother. I suppose that's why he went there in the end. Pumpkin Spice or Apple Cider?"

"Hm?" Rika looked up to see Seiko presenting her with two flavors for tea. "Um… Apple Cider," she replied before looking away once more. "He's…He's still out there, you know. Behind the Firewall."

"Yes," Seiko. "Unfortunately. I don't know why the world decided not to try and bring him back, like it did for all the other researchers that went on that expedition. Maybe they felt it would have been too dangerous."

Rika clenched her fists again. "Or maybe they're just a bunch of cowards."

Approaching the girl, Seiko smiled at her warmly. "It's my understanding that governments are many things, but cowardice isn't often one of them. They have a great many things to be concerned about after all. Is your partner nearby?"

"You want to see her?" Rika asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Would it be all right if I did? She protects my granddaughter after all. I would like to thank her for keeping you safe."

"I…" Rika closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Renamon."

There followed the sound of a flute and a moment later the golden-furred vulpine digimon materialized out of thin air directly in front of Seiko in a kneeling position. Seiko looked her over appraisingly.

"I thought I saw something always nearby," she nodded after a moment. "But at my age you start to wonder if you're just seeing things. Hello."

"Hello," Renamon returned. "My name is Renamon. And I'm sorry if I have caused any trouble."

Seiko smiled. "So polite. How would you like your tea? I'm making enough for everyone."

"I'll have the same as Rika's," Renamon replied, still kneeling. She was uncertain as to how to address the matriarch of the household, or what to do. She felt…discomforted by her role in events that led to now. Despite whatever Seiko or the others may think, Renamon didn't enter into this partnership for innocent reasons.

_If anything I am responsible for encouraging Rika's actions. It was all to make me stronger so I could digivolve, but…after last night…_

Doubts clouded her heart, leaving her uncertain. _Rika_ made her strong; strong in a way that she hadn't been promised, but in a way that felt… _right._ She couldn't explain it, but she felt distinctly that if she had set down the original path laid out for her, things would not have gone well for her, leaving Rika most assuredly hurt in ways that went beyond just the physical.

"Ms. Hata," Renamon began, only for Seiko to smile.

"Please, call me Seiko," she said.

"I… Seiko," she conceded. "Please do not blame Rika for any trouble that has occurred. I…"

"Don't blame _me?!"_ Rika cut in, her eyes now blazing fiercely as she saw what her partner was trying to do. "Renamon! What are you trying to do? _I'm_ the one who ordered you into battle! I'm _not_ letting you take the fall for this!" Turning to her grandmother, she placed her hands on her hips defiantly. "If anyone's to blame here it's me, grandma. _Not_ Renamon."

"Renamon?" Seiko asked. "Could you go see what the others would like for tea? I'm sure they would like some as well."

Renamon tilted her ear to one side. "Very well," she replied carefully, wondering what was going through her mind. She didn't stick around to find out however, as she quickly disappeared to do as she had been bid.

"She's very lovely," Seiko observed. "And she thinks the world of you."

Rika looked down the hall in the direction that her partner had gone before glancing away. "They won't…hurt her, will they?" she asked. "Will they take her away?"

"I can't say for sure, Rika," Seiko replied. "But they will do what they think is right."

"Great," Rika frowned, causing her grandmother to chuckle lightly just as a loud knock from the gate echoed across the yard. Seiko turned toward it thoughtfully.

"That might be your mother," she said as the tea pot began to sing. "Would you get that, honey?"

Rika sighed, _not_ looking forward to including her mother in this. Bowing to the inevitable however, she strode outside, slipping her shoes on as she did so. The night air was cool, causing her skin to prickle.

_Will they really take her away? I mean, I don't have a license and I can tell already they don't want me running around with her. It's not like they're going to make me work for them or something. I'm just a kid._

She stopped at the door and took hold of the handle. A moment later she pulled wide, revealing the boy she met with earlier, Takato, and the other Tamer, the one with a Terriermon. Flanking them was a woman with brown hair and a Gatomon. She recognized the last two from the battle with Mephistomon.

"Ugh," she grimaced. "Great. What do you want?"

"It's Guilmon," Takato answered, and for the first time, Rika noticed his desolate expression and the absence of his partner.


	36. Episode 7: The Path to Trinity

Takeru glared at the anomaly on the screen; a pixilated field of energy unlike anything he had ever seen before. Yolei looked up at him from her spot by his side, worry masked behind the outward calm of professionalism. Takeru had been quiet since the Chief Cabinet Secretary left Hypnos to return to his duties.

_"You've shown yourself to be powerless to stop further digimon from breaking through. …find the ones that have already come through. Then_ _eliminate_ _them. Otherwise, we'll be forced to find someone else to head this operation."_

Takeru's hands tightened as he remembered the Chief Cabinet Secretary's words.

_Find someone else to head this operation?_ he thought, pulling out a com device and activating it. Yolei raised an eyebrow at that. _I don't think so. I've come too far to let anyone else put Hypnos and the world at risk._

Typing in the password to the com device, he plugged it in to the control panel.

"Sir?" she asked as it began to feed a program into Hypnos' systems. She didn't recognize it as belonging to one of their standard containment programs.

"I've had this in development as a personal project for some time now," Takeru explained as the progress bar on the com devices screen began to fill. "For a long time now, digimon and digital phenomena have always had the advantage in that their attributes could impact the real world while our equipment could barely even scratch them. This will make an excellent test run." He grinned slightly. "My little Yuggoth program should disinfect the area."

_Yuggoth?_ Yolei _definitely_ didn't recognize that designation. "Shouldn't we study the phenomenon sir?" she asked cautiously. "We have no idea where it came from or what impact attacking it in the real world will have."

"Don't get soft on me now, Ichijouji," Takeru berated. "This little anomaly or whatever it is has caused me more grief than it's worth. And it's about to become nothing more than an unpleasant memory."

Yolei frowned at the man as the progress bar neared completion.

"But sir, unapproved programs are _strictly_ forbidden."

"Forbidden?" Takeru scoffed. "Those fools upstairs order me to deal with a problem but can't even begin to understand the technology needed to do the job. They can barely understand the idea that there's a whole digital world out there. Who do they think they are to forbid me _anything?"_

Yolei frowned, but turned away. She knew the pressures Takeru was under to get the job done and protect the balance between the worlds. The most she could do was support his efforts in spite of her concerns.

"Yes sir," she said as the progress bar completed its upload of Yuggoth into Hypnos' systems.

**###**

"This is it you guys," Rika heard Takato say as the group – composed of herself, the Gogglehead, his teacher, Henry, Ken, Davis, and their respective digimon – neared a fence. "This is where he disappeared."

"Hey," piped up Ken from behind Rika. "Isn't that the entrance to one of the storm tunnels or something?"

"It is," replied Kari, frowning slightly. "I actually had to teach it to my class today."

"That's a weird coincidence."

"Coincidences aside," cut in Ken, "let's not jump to any conclusions until…"

"Rika!"

Grinding to a halt, the group turned around to see the vulpine digimon had stopped dead in her tracks and was holding out her arms. A strange, static-like blur distorted her hands, causing them to become transparent. Rika gasped, frightened as she suddenly felt that her partner was being taken from her.

"Don't move!" she ordered as Henry turned toward his own partner.

"Terriermon?"

"Check it out," the diminutive dog-bunny replied, hopping off his partner's shoulder and over to the nearby wall. Extending an ear, the same effect danced along its tip, causing it to crackle.

"It's happening to Renamon and Terriermon too!" Takato exclaimed.

"Whatever it is that's causing this, it seems only to affect the digimon," Henry observed as Renamon withdrew her arms. "Renamon you'd better leave before you start to disappear too."

Renamon didn't move at Henry's suggestion, and instead turned to her partner. "Rika?"

"It's okay," the girl replied. "You can go."

With that, Renamon faded into the background and disappeared. Turning, Terriermon looked at the others. "I suppose the rest of us should go too, huh?" he asked.

"You should," Ken nodded. "We don't want to have to rescue anyone else."

"Fine," Terriermon said, wandering off down the stone wall. Reaching up, Ken set Wormmon on the wall as well, followed by Davis with DemiVeemon.

"You guys stay out of trouble, okay?" Davis asked. "Even if you hear us screaming in terror, don't come running, otherwise the weird thing that kidnapped Guilmon will get you too."

"You're…not exactly helping, Davis," Ken told him in a flat tone.

"Sorry, bud."

Rika barely paid any attention to this exchange. Instead her focus was on the half-Chinese Tamer.

"Don't order my digimon around, got it?" she told him darkly. "She's mine."

Henry frowned at her.

"I'm just trying to keep them out of danger," he replied.

"Keep them out of danger?" Rika scoffed angrily. "From what? We know where this thing is now and so far it doesn't do much of anything unless you just stand around for too long." She leveled her gaze on Takato now, narrowing her eyes. "What _else_ could it be that we have to worry about? This isn't a big deal."

A hurt expression crossed Takato's face and for a second she saw a flicker of anger coming from within his eyes. That was normal. She was used to expecting anger from others. Today especially seemed to pit the world against her, and some of that had to do with this ridiculous, goggle-wearing kid and his _Hazard_ Digimon. She wouldn't be surprised if whatever this was happened to be a direct result of that marking. For all they knew the digital world was cleaning up the kid's mess!

"You don't have to be here you know," Gatomon said, glowering up at the red-haired girl. This was more or less true. Rika only tagged along over Davis' quite vocal protests to see what the deal was. Now, as far as she was concerned, she wasn't _needed._

"Gatomon," Kari interceded as Rika and Gatomon exchanged dark looks with each other. "You should join the others. We've got to get going."

"I'd rather not leave you to deal with this by yourself," the feline digimon scowled, tail twitching in worry. "What if it's a trap from the Dark Ocean again?"

"Gatomon does raise a good point," Ken said as their partners vacated the area.

"We _don't_ know that," Kari replied, frowning slightly. "If you think you're going to leave me out of this, then you'd better think again. Takato's _my_ student. Do you think I would just let him walk into danger to protect myself?"

Ken and Davis exchanged looks. The thought of excluding Takato – or any of the children – hadn't quite entered their minds, primarily due to their own experiences as Digidestined and due to the fact that they needed Takato to locate Guilmon. However, the fact that Kari had been sought after specifically by the forces of Darkness – and remained to this day a target by them – weighed heavily on their minds.

"No," Davis replied for the two of them finally, rubbing the back of his head. "I guess…we're just worried, that's all. Especially since we're trucking into the unknown here, like usual."

"It _is_ the risk we take," Ken acknowledged. "However, we still can't bring Gatomon with us. It's like Davis said, the fewer digimon we have to rescue the better. It's better if we just focus on Guilmon."

"That's _if_ Guilmon is still alive," Takato said, looking forlornly in the direction of the tunnel entrance. Rika rolled her eyes at him.

"Give me a break, kid," she said. "Your partners made of data. Even if he were destroyed, as long as he's not loaded he'll reformat. Why do you even care if he…"

_"Be quiet!"_ Takato shouted, his temper finally stretching to its limit. Rika stiffened, taken aback by the force of emotion in his voice, as did the others who were more used to Takato's quiet, polite nature. This was the kid she thought would just roll over no matter how many what? The same ridiculous Gogglehead who refused to fight her in the alley because it 'wasn't always the answer'? The one who panicked in all of their encounters, begging and pleading with his partner to listen to him?

As quickly as his fire rose up against her though, it also rapidly abated, and he looked away, as if ashamed of his outburst, leaving Rika even more confused. _Neither_ reaction was something she expected.

"I don't care what you say," Takato continued, his voice softer now. "Guilmon was my friend. And I'll do everything I can to find him… _with_ or _without_ you."

His digivice beeping, Henry pulled it out from his pocket. "I'm getting a signal," he said, the compass function clearly pointing toward the tunnel. He looked up at the others. "Come on, let's go and find Guilmon."

Ken, Davis and Kari all eyed Rika for a moment as Takato and Henry immediately began to scale the fence before turning and following suit. Rika glared at their backs, knowing they were judging her.

_"Let's go and find Guilmon,"_ she mocked under her breath. "Waste of time."

The incessant beeping of her digivice caught her attention. Pulling it out, she saw the compass pointing in the same direction that the others were going in. Tucking it back onto her belt, she turned to walk away, only to stop and look back, her expression pinching a little, remembering Takato's words.

_"Guilmon was my friend. And I'll do everything I can to find him…_ with _or_ without _you."_

She thought back to last night in the park and how, as much as she hated to admit it, _she_ had needed help.

Just like this kid came to _her_ for help.

Her expression softened ever so slightly as the group entered the tunnel.

Eyes narrowing once more, she started for the fence. "Waste of time," she repeated under her breath, yet it didn't stop her feet or change their direction.

**###**

Takehiro flipped through the news while behind him, dishes clinked as Mie washed them. Takehiro barely read the paper, and his wife's washing sounded half-hearted. The kitchen was eerily quiet, owing to the chair at the other end of the table that remained conspicuously unoccupied.

"He'll be home any minute now, I'm sure of it," Mie spoke up finally, giving voice to the white elephant in the room. Takehiro glanced at her over his shoulder, feeling much the same.

"He's probably turning the corner for home right now." He didn't sound as confident as he would have liked, and Mie picked up on it as she ceased in her scrubbing of her son's plate.

"Yeah," she said in a quiet voice. "But it is getting kind of late, isn't it?"

**###**

"Done," Takeru said as he closed a panel above Yolei's work station.

"I've got to state my objection one more time sir," Yolei said as she analyzed Yuggoth's schematics. She was not liking what she was seeing. "This program could cause widespread network damage!"

"And I've got to warn _you_ one more time," Takeru began, turning toward her, "that you're walking on thin ice, Ichijouji. Start the program before that ice breaks and you drown."

Yolei schooled her face still as she fired up Yuggoth, not liking this one bit. "Yes, _sir."_

**###**

As a child, Takato had a minor fear of the dark. Most children, as far as he knew, did, but they also grew out of it as they got older. Yet here, staring out into the seemingly endless depths of the tunnel, bathed in shadow and a dull, almost blood-red light, Takato felt that old fear resurface. The flash of fright from all his battles with Rika and Mephistomon almost seemed to pale in comparison.

"Why don't they make tunnels that aren't dark and scary?" he asked to no one in particular. Behind him, Kari placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"It'll be okay," she told him, smiling. "We're all here with you. As long as we stay together, I'm sure we'll…"

She was abruptly cut off as the entrance to the tunnel creaked open. Takato spun around, half-expecting to see a Phantomon come dropping out of the ceiling toward them, but instead Rika emerged from outside, stepping toward them, her expression neutral. Davis blinked, his mouth dropping open in surprise while Ken raised his eyebrows.

No less surprised was Takato, though his reaction once again did not meet Rika's prediction.

"Hey Rika!" he exclaimed happily. "You decided to come! That's _awesome!"_

Awesome? _Awesome?!_ Rika narrowed her eyes and _harrumphed_ at him. _Why's he so happy to see me? He doesn't have any reason to._

Seeing her look, Takato suddenly became sheepish and began to stammer awkwardly. She felt more at ease upon seeing this. _This_ was what she came to expect from him.

"Uh…" he coughed. "You know…whatever."

"So why are you here?" Davis asked. "I thought you said this was a complete waste of your time."

"A Tamer doesn't walk away from danger," Rika stated matter-of-factly, causing Henry to grin and turn toward the tunnel.

"Yeah, right," he chuckled. "Enough talking. Let's go find Guilmon."

"Yeah!" Takato exclaimed, falling in line right behind as Rika leapt down the steps to quickly join them.

The Digidestined adults watched the three children as they linked up and began to move on ahead of them.

"I…don't believe it," Davis said after a moment, pointing in their direction. Looking at him, Kari smiled.

"Why so surprised?" she asked. "You believed in Ken when none of us did."

"Yeah, but…" Davis shook his head and gave a wry chuckle. "I don't know. Maybe I was too ready to expect the worst of her after she admitted to loading digimon."

Kari's nodded in understanding. She had been in the same position years ago when they were considering what to do about Ken following his defeat as the Digimon Emperor. Previously the cruelty he visited upon digimon had been done by _other_ digimon. She remembered well the wickedness of WaruMonzaemon and the mass extermination of the slave Numemon by the Dark Master, Machinedramon. She didn't want to believe that a human was capable of the same kind of cruelty. Over the years as she studied and taught, she learned a great many things. It was certainly possible that humans and digimon could be needlessly violent toward others. Some out of malice, while others…

"Some people are only bad out of ignorance though," Kari said. "Maybe that's what it is here with her."

While Davis pondered this for a moment, Ken marched forward. "Come on," he said to them. "We have a job to do still."

"Right," Kari nodded as both she and Davis followed after him, Kari taking a moment to slip a comforting hand around Davis' wrist to get him going again before letting go, confident that he would keep moving once he started. A light blush crossed Davis' cheeks, but he didn't say anything.

He didn't want to bring up that old heartache. Not if he could help it.

"Um…it _is_ kind of scary down here though, right guys?" Takato asked as the group joined together.

"Oh brother…" Rika groaned.

**###**

Rika glared at Takato's back as he led them forward. "How long is this stupid tunnel anyway?" she asked, annoyed. Time had passed and so far they saw nothing except more of this tunnel.

"It goes all the way to the next town," Kari said, causing Rika to groan in exasperation.

"That's so stupid," she grated.

"Yeah, so you say," Henry sighed, wondering himself how long they were going to have to put up with this.

"It's too bad they don't have one of those people movers," Takato said, trying to fill the air so as to break the tension. "You know like at the airport, that'd come in handy about now, don't you think?"

"It's not funny, you know," Rika snapped. "I don't want to walk all the way to the next town just to find your little fiend."

"Well if it makes you feel any better Rika, the tunnel might flood and we could all swim there," Henry joked, causing the girl to clench her eyes shut as though she were about to experience a headache.

"It's just my luck to be stuck down here with a couple comedians…"

"You think that's a joke?" Davis started. "Hey, how about the one where an Ogremon walks into a bar and…"

"Davis!" Kari interrupted before he could continue. "There's _children_ present!"

"Eh? Oh!" Davis blushed at her admonishment. "Sorry. I wasn't…"

"Would you guys can it?" Takato spoke up, looking at his digivice. The arrow was pointing dead ahead of them now. He turned toward Henry, only for Henry to point directly ahead of them.

"Look! Forget the digivice! Take a look at that!"

Takato turned and gaped at the sight ahead of them. A ways ahead of them, flickering with glowing white light, was a twisting field of energy.

"What is it?" he exclaimed loudly.

**###**

"I've pinpointed the energy field," Yolei said, her scanners finally displaying the anomaly. It appeared to be a shell of energy of some sort.

"Well done," Takeru replied. "Prepare to delete the area."

**###**

"This is no digital field," Rika said as they all drew to a halt in front of the crackling, white light. "A digital field is a fog! This…" _I don't know what this is!_

"Ken!" Davis exclaimed. "I don't suppose you have any idea about what this thing is, do you?"

"Not a clue," Ken replied, though something nibbled at the back of his mind – some memory from the War. "I this is a digital field, it's not of a kind I've seen before."

"It doesn't matter!" Takato exclaimed. "Guilmon must be inside of that thing! I know he is! _Guilmon!"_

Rika looked at the boy, bewildered. "Don't be stupid! How could you possibly know that?"

"I don't know how," Takato replied, searching his instincts quickly. "I just _feel_ that he's in there!"

As soon as he said that, his digivice began to glow and a beam of light shot out from its screen. Rika gasped as her digivice did as his, and Henry's digivice followed in turn. One after another, digivices lit up and shot forth a beam of light.

"What's going on?" Takato asked.

"If I remember what you told me before right," Henry began, looking at Ken after considering the blazing column thoughtfully for a moment, "digivices connect us to our digimon. Maybe we can use them!"

Suiting action to words, he pointed his digivice at the field, causing it to distort and crackle.

"Let's do it!" Davis nodded, doing likewise, and as one the group joined him.

"Look!" Kari shouted as the field distorted all the more strongly now, sending waves of light sweeping across them. "Something's happening!"

"It opened!" Ken exclaimed, shielding his eyes from the intensity of the light.

Sliding his goggles down over his eyes, Takato burst into a run toward the field. "Guilmon! Hold on! I'm coming!"

Henry raced after his schoolmate, pulling his sunglasses out of his vest and slipping on his sunglasses in the process. "Hey! Wait!"

Rika gaped at Takato as he disappeared into the field, once again surprised by his actions. Today was just one surprise from him after another.

_"Stupid…"_ she grated, doing as Henry and chasing after the Goggle-wearing boy.

"After them!" Ken called, quickly following. Davis and Kari didn't even need to be told twice.

**###**

Solid ground vanished between their feet, leaving the group of humans twisting and floating in midair as they fought to orient themselves. Takato shouted, struggling to keep the contents of his stomach down while Rika floated past him, trying to make sense of where they were. White. Solid white surrounded them on all sides, leaving them with no sense of direction; no up or down. She tried to focus on something – _anything_ to keep from becoming completely disoriented.

_Falling!_ she told herself as she focused on Takato. _I'm falling toward him!_

That helped. Her mind reoriented itself as she swept by him and eventually her momentum ground to a halt. The lack of something to stand on however was still a problem, and her feet kicked uselessly, trying to find a surface to ground herself on.

"This…This is the _digital world?!"_ Henry asked in amazement, taking in the surrounding field. The white was starting to give way to a rainbow of colors, intermingling, shifting…never the same for more than a moment. "It doesn't look like anything from the history textbooks!"

"It's not," Ken said, from where he, Davis and Kari floated. The latter two, being out of practice, were having a difficult time orienting themselves, but they were managing. "We're in some kind of in-between zone. This…" He scowled around him. "This…almost looks like some kind of containment field of some kind. But…where…?"

"Guilmon!" Takato shouted suddenly as he pulled his goggles back. "I think I see him!"

Sure enough, down below him was the crimson dinosaur, entangled in a mess of what appeared to be wires of some kind. His eyes were closed, as though he were napping. Twisting in midair, Takato immediately began swimming toward him, causing Rika to tilt her head at him.

"Cool," she heard him say to himself. "This is how I fly in my dreams."

"Wait up!" Henry called, doing likewise.

_He sure got over himself quick,_ she noted. The swimming motions he was making also helped settle her even more. In her mind, she was convincing herself that she wasn't simply _floating_ in the middle of the air anymore, but instead _swimming._ Mimicking the two boys, she quickly followed, becoming a bit annoyed that the Gogglehead was adapting so quickly to the alien environment. He was just so focused on his partner that it might as well not exist for him. And that last line of his…

"You and you're dreams…" she grumbled as they drew near Guilmon.

"There he is!" Takato exclaimed again, not even hearing her comment. "Guilmon! Wake up!"

Slowly, ever so slowly, Guilmon's golden eyes cracked open. He looked so exhausted, as if the wires attached to him had been draining him of his energy.

"Right now?" he slurred. "Five more minutes."

With tears brimming in his eyes, Takato laughed at seeing that his partner appeared to be more or less okay. They were here now and as long as he still lived there was a chance of rescuing him.

"Don't worry boy. I'll get you out of there somehow," he promised.

"Are you two all right?" Ken asked, turning to Davis and Kari. The Digidestined of Light shook her head, managing to clear it of the disorientation that threatened to make her upchuck her dinner, as was Davis. They were taking longer than the kids to adapt, but they _were_ managing.

"Just lead the way, Ken," Davis replied. "We'll keep up."

"It looks like the kids have the right idea," Kari suggested, orienting herself onto her stomach and pumping her arms. "Come on, we've got to…"

All of their digivices shrieked in alarm as the field crackled and shook, as if from something striking it.

"What's that?!" Henry shouted.

**###**

Yolei frowned at her sensors as they detected something unexpected.

"Sir," she began. "Some unusual data has entered the zone created by the energy field."

"I don't care, just run the program," Takeru ordered. "Delete everything now."

"Yes…sir," Yolei said, tapping her controls. As she did so, she frowned beneath her visor. The data she was picking up… The zone was distorting it, but she could almost swear that the unusual data she was picking up were digivice signals.

_Probably just the zone effect,_ she told herself, completing her commands to Yuggoth ordering the zone's erasure.

**###**

The zone quaked and warped as it began to shatter, fragments of sparkling light floating away.

"Something's attacking the field!" Ken realized in utter dread. Did that mean that this whole thing really had been a trap specifically set for them by the IceDevimon? A 'honey pot' to make them leave behind their partners? He had seen it happen during the War, when dark soldiers would capture someone and injure them just badly enough to cause allies to try and rescue them…only to start picking off the rescuers. Slow death for the captured; quick and multiple deaths for the victim's friends. Ken felt himself start to shake as the zone's destruction crept toward them.

_I led us right into it…_

"Look!" Rika pointed up in response to Henry's question, snapping Ken back to reality. "It's being erased!"

Sure enough, the binds that held Guilmon began to dissolve at the top, the erasure working its way down at a rapid clip. Panicking about what could possibly happen when this deletion met up with Guilmon he looked over at Rika and Henry helplessly.

"I can't reach him in time! Help!"

Henry grabbed hold of one of Takato's arms and turned toward Rika expectantly. "Hey!"

"Huh?" Rika blinked before realizing what he was getting at. "Oh!"

Clasping Takato's remaining arm in her hands, the two Tamers swung him back and then threw him at Guilmon's direction.

All of this Ken watched, reminded of his earliest adventures from before the War. Moving in the moment, focused on protecting their own and working toward the higher goal of saving two worlds. They had lost friends yes, but nothing that had been irrecoverable.

Ken envied them for that innocence, and feared for what their experiences would take from them.

He wanted to protect that as best he could; make their pain less than what he and the others had to go through for their hard-earned lessons.

_We'll be better this time around,_ he thought, raising his digivice toward the cascading wave of deletion. Light began to emerge from the screen, and with it a symbol; pink in color with a seemingly fragile stem that blossomed up into an orb, like the bud of a rose. Pink light emerged from the black and grey-trimmed digivice, growing, meeting with the oncoming wave of destruction. They clashed violently, sending a shower of sparks flying in all directions.

He wasn't alone. A blue and white digivice soon followed, its screen showing a blue circle with twin curved points along its ends pointing outward glowing blue, and it was joined by a pink and white digivice, its screen displaying a pink, sun-like logo. Both digivices burst with light, joining Ken's in keeping the destruction at bay. As if in response, more destruction rained upon the digital-zone, slamming into the light that opposed it. Ken grunted, feeling their hold slipping.

_Hurry up…!_

Takato flew toward Guilmon, well aware of the struggle going on behind him and the others. He thought only of his partner though and so great was the need to protect him that he felt all traces of fear vanish from him. Strength flowed through him – a strength he never felt before – and as if he felt it too, Guilmon suddenly began to struggle against his bonds, tearing through the wires with ease. The wires broke apart, shattering into thousands of shards of data as Guilmon and Takato crashed into a powerful embrace.

"I thought I was going to lose you for sure!" Takato cried, hugging his partner tightly to him, never wanting to let go. The strength he felt from before still flowed through him. This wasn't over yet. They _needed_ a way _out!_

He felt something flow through him and then…where? Somewhere, he didn't know, but Guilmon began to glow with a dark red light, and at once a red path shot out from him and speared a hole through the digital field.

"Whoa!" Rika exclaimed in astonishment, a sentiment shared by Henry.

"He's created a road for us!" he proclaimed excitedly, immediately swimming toward it.

Rika was quick to do likewise, but she shot a quick glance at Takato. Just what was _with_ this kid today? "Yeah, well, Renamon could have done the same thing!" she said, feeling as though the Gogglehead she had earlier dismissed as an idiot was showing her up.

"Whatever," Henry said, his feet touching down before he turned toward the Digidestined. "Come on! Let's go! We've got a way out!"

"You heard him!" Ken ordered. "Let's do this by the numbers. Keep the pressure on, but fall back. No leaving anyone behind, got it?"

"Roger dude," Davis replied as Kari nodded, the three of them beginning to retreat. The wave of destruction began to advance once more, but its progress was only as slow as the Digidestined moved as they maintained the light of their digivices to check its progress.

"You okay?" Takato asked as he and Guilmon touched down on the red road. The crimson dinosaur turned toward him, golden eyes large while his body trembled.

"Skating on sausages," he replied simply. Rika stopped along with Henry, wondering just what the heck _Dino-boy_ meant by that before chalking it up to him being his usual, idiotic self.

"Have your reunion later," Henry called out as the Digidestined joined them. "We've got to get out of here before we're erased!"

Nodding to each other, Takato and Guilmon quickly began to run, joining the others as they all rushed toward the exit created by the red road.

**###**

On the screen at Hypnos' control center, the blinking reactor-like icon and the white field around it vanished. The unusual data had left before it was destroyed, leaving Yolei feeling conflicted as to whether she should feel relieved or not.

"The zone has been deleted, sir," she reported, logging the incident.

Down below, Takeru nodded and flicked his lighter closed, pleased with his program's test run.

"Problem solved."

**###**

In the soft glow of a lamppost, in the presence of the other digimon Takato beamed gratefully at the others. He felt exhausted, but in a good way. This incident, whatever it was, had been resolved. He could rest easy tonight, knowing that his partner was safe.

"I never could have gotten Guilmon back without your help," he said, his gaze moving from one to the next before finally settling on Rika. "I don't know how to thank you guys."

Rubbing up against his partner, Guilmon laughed. "That's easy, just say, 'thank you.'"

"Momentai," chirped Terriermon from his spot on Henry's shoulder.

Laughing, Takato placed his hand on Guilmon's head and rubbed it gently.

Next to Rika, Renamon looked dispassionately at Terriermon.

"The little one didn't even do anything," she said, as if scolding the rabbit-dog.

"Well, neither did you," Terriermon grinned. Crossing her arms together, Gatomon glared at Renamon.

_"None_ of us did," she added. "Let's not make something of it, okay? Some of us would like to have a cat nap tonight."

Rika looked at Takato, uncertain as to what she felt in regards to tonight's incident. This… _kid_ didn't do anything she had expected him to do. He leapt into danger without fear, vowing to rescue his partner even when he had no clear idea on how to do that. He had…acted like a Tamer, and yet…

"Look at you," she derided him, "blubbering like a wuss."

Takato's eyes met hers as Davis bristled at her comment, but a quick touch on his shoulder from Kari followed by a shake of her head held him back from barking back a response. Ken seemed to be of the same mind as they all watched Rika and Takato look at each other. In the silence, something seemed to pass between them – something unacknowledged – and with nothing more to be said, Rika turned and began to walk away, Renamon vanishing as she did so.

"Are we just going to let her go like that?" Davis whispered to Ken. "We still have to deal with her after all."

"Let it go for now," Ken sighed. "She's not going anywhere." Turning toward Takato, he offered the boy a smile. "Good work today. I'd like a statement from you tomorrow so I can report this later, if that's all right…"

"I'll stop by," Takato replied, bobbing his head up and down. Ken nodded in return before looking up at Kari.

"Are you going to take him home or…?"

"I've got this," she said. "Henry, would you like me to…?"

Before Kari could even finish, the sound of two adults calling interrupted them.

_"Takato!"_ this one male, and one that was familiar to Takato and Kari.

"Is that…?" Kari began before the next voice, female, caused Takato to laugh.

_"We bought more ice cream!"_

"That could only be my parents," he said. Smiling, Henry turned toward him.

"I guess that's my cue. You were really brave, you know that?"

"Yeah?" Takato grinned. "First time for everything."

Stepping back, Henry held his gaze one second longer. "Well, something tells me you'd better get used to it. Later."

With that, Henry broke into a run, heading for home. Watching him go, Takato patted Guilmon.

"You were really brave too, you know."

"That's because of you," Guilmon chirped back at him. Laughing again, Takato hugged his partner gladly.

"Good night, Guilmon," he said. "Tomorrow I'll bring you some ice cream."

"Oh! Can I have some?!" DemiVeemon exclaimed from atop Davis' head, causing the man to sigh.

"I'll hook you up when we get home, dude," he shook his head. "Now how about we get started on that?"

"Yes," Kari nodded. "I'll be along in a second. I just need to talk with Takato's parents."

With that, Guilmon pulled away and began to run toward his home while Kari waved down Takato's parents as they stepped into view, flashlights in hand and worried expressions on their face. Davis smiled as the Digidestined of Light began to spin a tale about how Takato was helping her look for her cat Miko.

"I thought Miko died like, eight years ago," Davis said, more to himself than to anyone else. "She posted about it and everything on MyBook."

"She's just providing a convincing cover story," Ken sighed, folding his arms together. "It's no big deal."

Davis turned toward him, looking at him quizzically. "Hey, you all right, bud?"

Ken shifted his arms uncertainly. "It's…nothing. Just bad memories, that's all. For a second there, I thought I had led us into a trap."

"Well, even if it was, we got out of it okay," Davis replied, clasping him on the shoulder. "It's stuff we've done a hundred times. That's the risk we take, right? Just like Kari said."

"Yeah," Ken nodded, trying to relax a little as he watched Kari part ways from Takato and his parents, bowing apologetically. "Yeah it is."

_We've just got to take better care of ourselves. Who knows what'll happen the next time around if something like this happens again._

Above them, the stars twinkled their promise.


	37. Interlude 5: Comfort in Arms

Defeat.

Mephistomon gazed into the glowing orb in his massive hand, considering the situation. Lucemon's plan to reclaim the Digital Hazard was a failure, as he expected it would be.

_You're too prideful to expect defeat,_ he thought. _And too far removed from the present day to understand what the humans are capable of now._

Mephistomon dismissed the orb and turned toward the black landscape. Like all digital worlds, the Celestial Kingdom boasted a diverse series of landscapes, many of which drew their inspiration from the Earth. Sprinkled with refuse of human data and the world became…interesting. Deserts with pyramids standing on their tops instead of their bottoms; industrial cities spiraling up a mountainside, producing nothing that made sense and despite being made for people were empty and devoid of life… And this place, the Continent of Darkness – the edge of the map that humans would refer to with the words, 'here there be monsters.'

It wasn't quite the land of Mordor, but it was appropriate all the same. Even here there were terrors.

Grinning, he raised a hand and opened it, revealing a lion-shaped sculpture.

"Time to put you to new work, Warrior," he said, encasing it in blackened flame. "The future of darkness depends on you."

_Depends on you since the Princess may not be up to it anymore._ Summoning his orb again, he glanced into it, focusing on Rika Nonaka as she sat at her table, alone in appearance as her partner, Renamon, watched from the shadows. He had watched her encounter with the Hazard Tamer, curious as to why she didn't battle him. Even more curious was that she went so far as to _help_ him recover his partner.

She knew the risks of Hazard digimon, and yet changed her attitude toward both this one and its partner. And then, at the very end before she parted ways for home…when the two Tamers had looked at each other…

_They're connected in some way,_ he mused, claws curling into his palm. He didn't know what that connection was, but there was definitely _something_ there between them. Some unrealized spark. Perhaps something to do with the Trinity Effect?

Mephistomon grimaced, wondering if perhaps he should deal with the situation more fully. Apocalymon had hoped to create a powerful ally within the Digimon Queen, much like Ken had been during his run as the Digimon Emperor.

_Perhaps IceDevimon was right after all,_ he thought. He dismissed the thought. He had one more card to play. While he set into motion events here in the Celestial Kingdom, he would have another move to deal with the Hazard Tamer.

Color shifted in the orb until four, blood-red eyes stared back at him.

"Devidramon," he began. "You have a new mission."

**###**

_Another wild night,_ Yolei sighed heavily as she dragged herself home. She resisted the urge to look up at the night sky. She didn't like doing so anymore, not for years. Looking up only reminded her that the digital world was up there, and while she loved the dimension as it was the source of many of her fondest childhood memories, past events had certainly soured her on the topic.

Chief of which, at this point, involved Takeru.

_The pressure is really starting to get to him,_ she thought, hugging her purse closer to her side as she entered her apartment building, relaxing a little upon seeing the familiar lobby. _He never would have threatened my job just because I questioned him before._

Even when they were kids, Takeru had never had the kind of pride that would cause him to lash out at someone for voicing an opposing opinion. True, there had been the odd clash with Davis, but as a kid and teen Davis had a way of getting under one's skin, leaving an argument an inevitability. This time… This was different. Try as she might, she couldn't get rid of the worry from earlier that they had destroyed the Digital Zone with Digidestined inside. The signals had been _that_ similar…

_I'm in denial,_ she thought in quiet realization reaching the elevator and hitting the call button. _I keep telling myself that there's nothing wrong with Takeru. He's grieving, stressed, not getting enough sleep, smoking too much… I kept finding excuses for him._

Yolei sighed, the elevator doors opening with a ding. She stepped inside and hit the floor for her and Ken's home.

_What am I going to do? We went from being allies in the war against the darkness to… I don't know. It's like he doesn't even see himself as a Digidestined anymore. He's just… Hypnos. All he is now is Hypnos._

_So what are we…his friends…to him now? Are we still even friends at all?_

Reflecting on the last few years, it seemed to her incredibly unlikely that they were friends at all. Just…coworkers at best.

The door opened once more and she stepped out into the hall. Her heels clicked on the floor as she made her way to her apartment. Pulling out her keys, she pushed it into the lock and entered her home.

"Is that you, Yolei?" came Hawkmon's voice from within, bringing a smile to the woman's face as she locked the door behind her. Hawkmon. Her partner and best friend for life; the one life form, digital or organic besides Ken that she could count on to put up with her any day of the week.

"Yeah, it's me," she said, spying a brown-feathered, bird-like digimon no more than three feet tall approaching her. Reaching up for the feathered bandanna on his head, Hawkmon tipped it to her respectfully.

"Did you have a good day?"

"Ugh," Yolei groaned, taking off her coat and purse and setting it on their hooks. "More like a wakeup call in the day in the life of my boss."

"Oh my… Was it that bad?"

"Well… It would have been just another, average day if not for some government suits showing up to tell him that he needs to get his butt in gear about bio-emergences, and then right after we get this weird…I don't know. _Something_ just popped out of nowhere and he decided to blow it up with an unapproved program that risked causing widespread network damage…"

"Yolei, are you sure you should be telling me this?"

"I don't care." Yolei walked past him into the living room and flopped herself down on the couch. "I saw a strange signal enter the anomaly right before we were about to hit it. I could _swear_ that they were digivice signals! They…" Yolei's eyes widened slightly as a thought occurred to her. "Hawkmon! Where's Ken? Is he here?"

"No Yolei. He hasn't come in yet. It's rather uncharacteristic of him. If he was going to be late, he would have called by now."

"Oh God…" Whipping out her cell phone, she immediately began scrolling through her contacts list for her husband before she heard the door start to open, interrupting her. Hope springing within her breast, she rushed toward the door and sure enough her hope was rewarded by the sight of Ken entering their home, looking only a bit on the weary side.

Upon spotting her, a smile drew across his face. "Hey Yolei. You won't believe the day I had…"

Ken didn't get a chance to finish as the scarlet-haired woman crushed her lips against his and pulled him into a powerful hug. Ken twitched in surprise, but allowed her to have this moment as it seemed, from the intensity of her kissing him, she really needed it.

"Oh my…" he heard Hawkmon say distantly as Yolei withdrew from him.

"Um… Nice to see you too?" Ken said with an uncertain, yet happy grin. Returning it, Yolei wrapped his shirt in her fist.

"Our room. Now."

"Wait, wha…?"

"Hawkmon? Wormmon? You guys are on your own for a little bit. Ken and I have some quality time to spend together first."

Behind Ken, Wormmon sighed. "Fine, but don't break the bed this time."

"No promises," Yolei giggled, already dragging the hapless man in the direction of their room. The two digimon approached each other, watching as the door to their partners' bedroom slammed shut with a mixture of amazement and uncertainty.

"I've said it before and I'll say it again," Hawmon began, "humans are strange creatures."

From behind the door there was a loud shriek, followed by immediate laughter from Yolei. _"Ken!"_ she exclaimed happily before they heard the sound of something heavy hitting the bed. Wormmon's antennae wilted at that, already expecting the mess that would need to be cleaned up when they were finished.

"Kuwagamon cause less damage than those two," he remarked, crawling toward the living room. It was time to throw on a movie and turn the volume up.

**###**

Yolei traced a fingertip along Ken's chest, a happy smile on her face. "Well…" she whispered happily, her breathing finally relaxing from their happy tumble. She could feel his heart beating against his chest. It made her so happy to know that it continued to drum on. He was alive and whole. "I'm glad to see that you're all right."

Taking her hand into his, he brought it up to his mouth and kissed her finger. "Everything all right?" he asked, rubbing her hand gently in his own. "That was…a bit abrupt for you."

"Had a terrifying thought right before you showed up," she said. "There was some stuff at work. An anomaly. Takeru went to extremes to handle it."

Ken furrowed his brow at that. "It didn't happen to involve something in the storm tunnel, did it?"

Yolei looked at him carefully, her heart skipping a beat. "How did you…?" Her eyes widened in horror. "You mean… We detected unusual data entering the anomaly. You…?"

"It seems we have some stories to tell," Ken said, turning himself to face her more fully. They spoke quietly to each other as they exchanged the details of their day, though Yolei struggled to keep her temper under control when Ken revealed that yes, he had been in the digital zone. Not just him either, but others as well. Some of those others being their friends.

"That… _bastard!"_ Yolei growled, one hand tightening against Ken's shoulder. The dark-haired man winced but said nothing. Yolei's temper had been legendary when they were children, and even today it could be a bit difficult on occasion for her to rein it in. Ken was so far impressed by the amount of restraint she was showing.

Cupping her hand with his, he massaged it gently with his thumb. "It's okay. Neither of you knew…"

"I _warned_ him! _Told_ him that we should study the phenomenon, but he couldn't do _that!_ After everything we went through together, he decided to just blow it all off because some stupid suits upstairs who know _nothing…!"_

Pulling her close to him, Ken kissed the top of her head. "I should have called," he interrupted quietly. "You guys would have picked it up and been working on doing something about it. I didn't think."

Reaching behind him, Yolei clasped his back so she could push her head against his chest as tightly as possible. There was the _thud-thud_ of his heartbeat; strong and relaxing. She felt the heat of his body against her skin. He _was_ alive. This wasn't a dream. She wouldn't wake up and find that he never came home – that he died in that digital zone by her hands. By Takeru's order.

_Oh God… I nearly killed him…_

She wanted to hit something, but she restrained herself. She didn't want to spoil this moment – this feeling. Ken was home, in her arms, and wasn't going anywhere without her say-so.

"I'm mad at you about that too," she said after a minute. "But you had other things on your mind. Takeru… He's got a bigger responsibility. He knows better too. We've had to deal with _so_ many people who didn't know anything about the digital world giving stupid orders that wouldn't have worked and got a lot of people killed."

Ken was silent on that mark. Running a hand through her hair, he was content to just lay there, holding her.

"So what should we do about it?" he asked after another minute. "I assume you'll want to read him the riot act."

Yolei snorted. "Only because punching him would only end with me being fired or thrown in jail. Or both." She adjusted herself within his grip before sighing against his chest. She thought about that, thinking on his threat toward her job. Could they, as Digidestined, afford to lose one of their number in such an important position?

Could Takeru?

"I don't know. For now I just…want to hold you."

Ken ran a hand along her shoulder blades, kissing the top of her head once more. "I'll hold you as long as you want," he promised her.

**###**

Tai entered a forest, glancing at the screen of his digivice every so often in the hopes of spotting a signal. His hopes of locating one soon had declined considerably since landing in…wherever it was he was in.

_Gennai's digi-positioning signal must not be able to reach all the way out here,_ he thought glumly. _But at least I haven't been attacked in the last… How long has it been again?_

The clock function of his digivice wasn't working either for some odd reason.

_That crash must've hit everything hard,_ Tai thought. Groaning, he pocketed his digivice and looked around him. The sky had turned into a deep, glowing orange color. He was going to have to set up camp and bed down for the night.

It didn't take him long to find everything he needed. Long experience with surviving in the digital world made it so that he now no longer had to think about it. He had a mental checklist and knocked down the chores as he went. Locating food and water was a snap. The Celestial Kingdom was essentially a paradise. Food and supplies were readily available, and concerning the food…

_Meat apples,_ he thought, picking one off a nearby tree and taking a bite. _Oooh… Bacon._

Taking off his shirt, he quickly piled more and carried them back to his campsite. He grinned to himself, remembering the first time he had tried the strange, meat-tasting fruit. He nearly spat it out, taken off guard by the taste – made worse by the fact that his first apple had been _raw_ meat. Fortunately cooking had changed the taste for the better and now he found them as something of an enjoyable delicacy whenever he was in this area.

The digital world was a strange and mysterious place to say the least.

Darkness fell, but the orange glow remained, courtesy of the fire Tai lit to keep warm and cook his food. In spite of lighting the fire being Agumon's job, Tai had made sure that he didn't become lax on the duty in case of events such as this. Piercing the meat apples, he lay them over the fire and then sat back, watching them cook. He thought back to the first time he tried cooking over a fire and had to have Matt show him how it was _properly_ done.

_I wonder how he's doing,_ he thought as the apples began to sizzle, juices sweating through their skin and dribbling into the fire below.

**###**

Time passed, and soon night found Tai sleeping, his shirt serving as a makeshift pillow, several meat apples cores surrounding him. His breath came out softly, and the fire continued on with consuming its fuel. Not much remained of it, save for one particular branch that had been thick and heavy when it went in. Now however it was little more than a skeletal bone of what it once was. As Tai rolled over onto his side, a portion of it drooped and collapsed; its weight now far too great for its diminishing structure to maintain. Tai didn't respond to it, save with little more than a light grumble.

Light fell across his face from the darkness surrounding the fire, and long, fin-like arm waved in front of him.

There followed a giggle, and in the next second, the fire was soon crackling to an empty campsite.


	38. Episode 8: A Question of Trust

Takato hummed to himself in the quiet of his bedroom. A Red-coloring pencil filled in the spaces between stripes of a picture depicting a large, fire-breathing dinosaur creature. The monster in question greatly resembled his drawings of Guilmon, only this time he appeared to be much larger, as he was depicted as towering over a number of houses. Placing the pencil along his back, he began to etch in some spikes.

"Okay, let's see… I'll just add a bunch of spikes down his back and put a few stripes below them…" The pencil paused and he pulled away from his drawing. "Nah," he decided in disappointment. "That's just dumb. Now I can't ride on his back."

Sighing mentally, he leaned his head into his hand, rolling ideas around in his head. "Ah well… They still look cool."

The line between looking cool and what he felt was desirable was harder than it appeared it seemed. Ever since the incident in the tunnel a couple days ago, he had given more thought to Guilmon's future and past digivolved forms. He still wasn't sure just _what_ had happened, but he considered all the theories laid out to him by Henry and the others. It _was_ possible that because Guilmon wasn't a naturally-born digimon that the digital world attempted to erase him…or perhaps _scan_ him so he could be incorporated into its archives. The digital world was a strange place.

_Ms. Kamiya told me about how Ken created Kimeramon… How he wasn't a natural digimon and there had never been one like him before… But they later found other versions of him flying around the digital world. It was like as soon as he was created, the digital world started making more of him._

It was further proof that there was a great deal about the digital world that no one, not even the best minds such as Izzy, truly understood. It left him feeling a bit concerned about the lack of Guilmon's further evolved forms. He wanted to see his partner digivolve, but how could he expect him to when he had _no_ forms at all?

A dilemma, and one that should be rectified quickly. As an experiment, he had scanned the lower levels. He had been half-afraid that he would get new digimon instead. Although Guilmon would probably be thrilled to have 'brothers and sisters' to play with, he didn't believe his home had the budget to feed three voracious digimon.

Fortunately – or unfortunately – nothing seemed to happen. Did that mean Guilmon had the lower forms in his data now? Could a digivice only be used with one digimon? Questions abounded that he would have to ask, but for now, he contented himself with believing he was at least finding something of a solution to his concerns.

_Besides, it's fun anyway,_ he thought, looking at the drawing. He winced a little at the crude lines, grateful that the digivice created Guilmon with far more realism and elegance than he could. He was going to have to practice more in order to get better.

"Now what will I call him?" he wondered aloud. "Uh…Gillimon? Goalie? Growl…?" A spark. That sounded close. "Growlimon! _Growlmon!_ Of course! Growlmon!" Seizing the initiative, he resumed his scribbling, drawing a white main of hair around his head and adding horns on inspiration. "Now what's his attack?"

**###**

Darkness hung over the city of Shinjuku, wrapping its inhabitants up like a blanket. Yet cities are places that never sleep, and even the quietest of locations have some activity.

Impmon crept through the park, a devilish grin on his face as he cast his green eyes about first this way, then that, searching…

Searching for what?

_Prey._

Spotting a park bench, he grinned. It contained two people; a man and a woman.

_Perfect!_

"Uh…I've been doing a lot of thinking," he heard the man say, shifting on the bench a little. During his stay, he had seen this routine a hundred…perhaps a _thousand_ times already where one person places their hand over that of the others.

_Cue the awkward acting,_ he thought, rolling his eyes, and sure enough, the woman seemed to become hesitant…or surprised? It was hard to tell with the way humans danced around each other when it came to courtship.

_So much effort into pretending to not be interested in each other even when they are,_ he thought, shaking his head. _Weirdos. All of them._

"Oh, not that," the man withdrew, trying to put her at ease. "Not about that."

_Whatever_ that _is…_ Impmon snorted derisively as the woman giggled. Did she believe him? Or did she…?

You see, it's just…um…" the man continued, stammering, only for the woman to speak up.

"It's cold…out here," she said, her tone was one of amusement, leaving Impmon to believe that she was in on his half of their little game and was intent on reeling him back in before he could fully retreat, giving him permission to continue.

"That's it, exactly," the man laughed anxiously, playing along. Impmon desperately wanted to throw up now. He was close enough now where he could see them both blushing from beneath the light of the street lamp. He had no idea why humans acted this way. It was _repulsive._

"And a fire would be nice," the woman continued. The man's blush deepened as Impmon watched, a dopey smile crawling across his face.

"Uh, huh…"

"And a comfy couch…"

"Uh huh…"

_Yeesh, it's like he's on automatic now…_ Impmon thought. He was so close now that he could practically stare up their nostrils and see whatever was crawling around inside them.

"…with me?"

The man giggled.

_Aaand we're done here…_

"A fire?" Impmon asked, raising a finger. "Allow me."

A crimson ball of flame flared to life on his fingertip, catching the attention of both adults. They didn't get a chance to say anything, for with one loud _"Baboom!"_ Impmon turned the fireball into a streaming blast, causing both humans to scream and run off. Hopping up onto the bench, Impmon pounded his stomach, laughing maniacally.

"What?!" he called after them between hysterics as they disappeared into the night. "So I forgot the couch!"

His prey gone now, Impmon calmed down and looked around him, grinning proudly at himself for his handiwork. Humans were so easy to terrify. It was as though they were helpless kittens or fish in a barrel.

_Sheep! That's what they are! No better than the tamed digimon._

That wasn't quite true. Tamed digimon at least remained fighters. They didn't let their instincts go to rust. Humans seemed more than willing to forget how dangerous the outside world could be. They were _coddled._

Quickly becoming bored, he crossed his arms over his chest, pondering what to do next. He looked up over a hill, spotting a concrete bunker hidden within the mass of trees.

_Speaking of tamed digimon…_

###

Claws broke through concrete and dirt as Guilmon dug, grunting and laughing eagerly. His mouth watered as he finally hit something that was neither of the two and he began to dig around the object until, finally, revealing a small box. Lifting it up, a large grin spread across his face and he popped the box open, revealing the treasure inside.

"Ah- _ha!_ Tasty, pretty bread!"

Oh, how he loved this food. His first meal in the human world. Takato insisted there was food out there that tasted better, but for the life of him he couldn't imagine anything being better than bread.

Taking a deep breath to savor the scent, he dove his face into the box and immediately began to scarf down his meal. As he did so however, one fell to the wayside and tumbled out toward the exit and rolled over to the fence.

"Oops! Uh-oh!" Turning, he immediately began to chase down the bread, claw outstretched helplessly. "Come back here!" he called, as if that would be enough.

_Doesn't the bread want to be with its friends?_ he wondered, finally coming to a stop. He started to reach for it, but no sooner did he do so, a gloved hand reached out and lifted the bread up and pulled it through the bars. Looking up in surprise, he saw a small, dark-furred digimon with a pale face, scarfing down on the bread. It disappeared in two quick gulps.

"A little dry, you know?" Impmon said between mouthfuls before holding out his hand. Guilmon cocked his head to one side in confusion, causing Impmon to scowl at him. "Don't just stand there you big, red lump. Give me some more. Come on."

"Okay," Guilmon replied, doing just that. He didn't even think about it. The digimon asked, so why not? It was the polite thing to do after all. Impmon snatched it up without so much as a thanks and promptly devoured it. Guilmon tilted his head to one side, watching him curiously.

"You must really like that bread."

"What makes you say that?" Impmon asked, swallowing the last mouthful before stretching out his hand, not waiting for an answer. "More."

Guilmon handed him another loaf, which Impmon promptly devoured.

"More," he repeated, waggling his fingers indicatively. Guilmon's lunchbox soon found itself with another empty spot. Within short order, the red-gloved hand was back.

_"More."_

"Okay…" Guilmon said hesitantly, handing him another loaf. He watched it disappear into Impmon's mouth mournfully before glancing back at his lunchbox.

"Um…excuse me, sir?" he asked. "Do you think you can leave a little for me? Takato won't be back until tomorrow."

Reaching through the bar to snag another loaf from Guilmon's lunchbox, Impmon looked at him disdainfully. "Do you have any idea how stupid you sound?" he asked before launching himself up onto the top of the gate. "You digi-pets are all the same. Takato this, Takato that…"

Impmon bit into the loaf.

"You're living in a cage my lumpish friend! Are you really happy being locked up like an animal in the petting zoo?" He glanced down at Guilmon irritably. "Maybe you are. You're pretty simple."

Guilmon stared at him for a second, trying to process Impmon's words before finally nodding and smiling.

"Uh-huh. Of course I'm happy. Takato's my friend and that's pretty simple."

At that, Impmon jerked as food caught in the back of his throat. Struggling to force it down so he could breathe again, he forgot his hold on the gate and tipped forward, crashing to the ground.

He didn't stay down for very long though, as the impact jarred the bread loose. Swallowing, he shot back up and glared at Guilmon.

"What did you say? Takato's your… _friend?"_ The word sent fire coursing through his veins. _"Wrong_ buddy-boy! Friends don't lock their little red pals up in cages!"

Furious, he jumped away from the bunker and landed on the steps. Folding his arms behind his head, he looked one last time at the dinosaur.

"Now look what you've done. You've made me sick to my stomach. I think I'll have to go somewhere now and puke my guts out."

Guilmon blinked, confused before shaking his head mentally at the strange, random digimon. His attention couldn't stay focused on him for very long and he soon went to his last piece of bread. Fishing it out of the box, he smiled and plopped it in his mouth.

Friendship never tasted so delicious.

**###**

"Blehhh…" Impmon grimaced as he finished picking at his teeth. "Those digi-poodles just make me so sick. I don't get why so many digimon even _want_ them as partners to begin with. Or why the _others_ want that snot-nosed _brat_ to help out…"

"My, my," came an amused voice from the shadows. "Sounds like someone is jealous."

Spinning around, Impmon lit a fire on his fingertips, only to grin as he spotted Renamon stepping out of the shadows.

"Oh, it's you. What are you doing out here, Fox Face? Don't you have a kid to babysit?"

"Rika's asleep now," Renamon replied. "I'm not tired yet so I thought I'd go check on the digimon whom you just mugged."

"Mugged?" Impmon scoffed. "You're really delusional babe. All I did was ask and he gave."

"More like demand and took." Renamon's eyes gleamed. "And then you took. Just like you always do, Impmon. You took advantage of him."

"Not my fault he's so naïve." Impmon crossed his arms over his chest and chortled. "Maybe this'll be a good life lesson for him, but I kinda doubt it. He's so stupid and simple that I doubt he'd notice much of anything even when you drew a map for him. In fact, I doubt he could even _read_ a map."

"He's newborn," Renamon laughed lightly. "Of course he'd be unable to read."

"So what? What's it matter to you, Fox Face?" Impmon cocked a head at the vulpine digimon. "It's not like he's one of _you,_ you know. Not a Nightmare Soldier like yours truly used to be." He patted his bandanna for emphasis. "I'd think you were looking to delete him, but I know you've had plenty of opportunities, so what's the deal?"

"You're not a Nightmare Soldier," Renamon replied, the light in her eyes dancing with amusement. "I don't owe you _any_ information about my mission."

Impmon looked insulted by this before finally waving at her dismissively. "Fine. Play with him, romance him… _whatever._ Seems to be the night for that kind of thing I guess. Not to mention the right place. This park is _crawling_ with 'em." Turning his back on Renamon, he gave her one last look. "I'll leave you two birds alone then. Ba-boom!"

With that, Impmon rocketed away, doing exactly as he promised. Renamon felt him recede without any deception on his part. Chuckling slightly, she shook her head before turning in the direction of Guilmon's home. His activity appeared to have lessened now, no doubt heading back to bed now that his appetite had been sated.

_Until tomorrow then,_ she thought, vanishing from sight.

**###**

Davis made his way down the streets, humming softly to himself while DemiVeemon rode atop his head again, the two of them ignoring the curious looks from passersby.

"You'd think they never saw a digimon before," DemiVeemon observed.

"Easy there, bud," Davis grinned. "It's not like we're always in this neighborhood. We're kind of new after all, and Wormmon likes to stay hidden when he's out and about."

DemiVeemon grunted. "Takato doesn't bring Guilmon around much, huh?"

"Ken said that he's still got a temporary license, and Takato doesn't seem to want to tell his parents yet."

"So how come we're going to visit him then? Are you going to drop the bomb on his parents without talking to him about it?" DemiVeemon looked at Davis curiously. He hadn't considered the man's intentions until now. Davis had always been a considerate person and had never been the sort to completely disregard a secret without a good reason.

"I'm not going to say anything to his parents unless he wants me to," Davis replied. "Don't worry buddy. I just want to check in on him. I figure that if his parents are freaking out about something, then it has to involve him."

"I…don't think that's very good logic, Davis. Why not just talk to Kari?"

"Ummm…" Davis glanced away, suddenly becoming uncertain. DemiVeemon raised an eyebrow at him.

"Davis?"

"I don't want to bug her," Davis replied. Spotting the Matsuki bakery entering into view, he quickened his pace. DemiVeemon rolled the man's reactions around in his mind for a minute, before coming to a realization.

"Davis. Tell me that you're not still…"

The door opened and out came Kari and Takato, the former of whom was looking at the boy with concern.

"K-Kari!" Davis sputtered, surprised by her presence, catching her attention.

"Davis," she said in a quiet voice while a large smile spread across Takato's face.

"Mr. Motomiya!" he exclaimed excitedly. "What are you doing here?"

"Uh… I was just coming in to check up on you. I'm still kinda worried about what happened with Guilmon."

"I was just about to head down to go see him now," Takato said, raising his bags of bread indicatively. "So far he's been doing good. No new weird attempts by the digital world to capture him or anything."

"Let's hope that's a trend," Kari said. "But we should stay on our guard. That was a strange thing to happen after all."

"In that case, we'd better get a move on," Davis said, jerking a thumb over his shoulder.

Nodding as a group, the trio set off toward the park. DemiVeemon considered the situation atop Davis' head, feeling the increase in warmth emanating from his partner.

_Oh Davis… It's been this long and you still haven't let go, have you?_ he thought with a sigh. _What are you going to tell Catherine?_

"So…" began Kari, sensing the awkward silence between them and wanting to break it. She dropped her tone so as to keep Takato from overhearing. "Has there been anything new with that girl?"

"Rika?" Davis asked for clarification, keeping his voice low as well since she seemed to want this to be private. Kari nodded. "Nah. Ken and I couldn't do anything about her yesterday. The IceDevimon case gave us a new victim and we had to investigate. We're still replacing our equipment too. All that got fried a while back, so that's slowing things down a lot."

"I don't know if I approve of his plan."

Davis grimaced. He had given them his idea the night of the incident with Guilmon when the three of them had gone out together to get a post-adventure meal to eat and digest the situation over. "She came through in the end and joined us, didn't she? We already went through this once with Ken you know."

"I know," Kari acknowledged. "But…Ken was different. He had the Dark Spore controlling him. He's not as responsible for his actions."

"We didn't know that back then though," Davis pointed out. "And Ken accepted what he did and took responsibility for it, Dark Spore or no Dark Spore."

Kari pressed her lips together into one thin line before nodding reluctantly. "I guess," she conceded as they left the confines of the street and entered the park. "I don't know. I'm still not happy that she killed so many digimon. And Ken _isn't_ going to turn her in for that. Something needs to be done."

Davis nodded in understanding. "What can we do though? Our hands are tied. If this became public knowledge, things would get messy _real_ fast."

"I know." She looked at Takato, who appeared to be lost in his own thoughts. She frowned at him. "He seemed to be happy to see her."

Davis chuckled. "Yeah, he _did_ , didn't he?"

Kari raised a questioning eyebrow at him. Davis simply shook his head at her unspoken question.

"I don't know what's going through the kid's head either. I just know what I saw, so I'm agreeing with you. No big deal."

Kari didn't say anything in response to that as they entered the confines of the park. They made the rest of the journey in silence. DemiVeemon could feel the discomfort emanating from Davis in _waves,_ even as they exchanged pleasantries with Guilmon.

_Oh Davis…_ DemiVeemon thought with a mental sigh.

**###**

"You're still in love with her, aren't you?"

"Huh?" Davis looked up at DemiVeemon, hand caught in mid-wave as Kari and Takato parted away, heading in the direction of the school. "What're you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb with me, Davis," the tiny-blue digimon replied, folding his tiny stumps across his chest. "I've been your partner since you were a kid. I _know_ what's going through your mind before you even know it."

"That…isn't exactly a huge accomplishment you know," Davis chuckled. "Even my sister knows what's going through my brain before I know it, and she's about as dumb as I am."

"Okay, bad example," DemiVeemon sighed. "But I know you well enough. You were all weird around Kari and it's like every time I mention it you get…I dunno. Even weirder. You've been weird ever since you started connecting with her again."

"I talk to her all the time," Davis pointed out.

"Yeah, but until you partnered up with Ken there wasn't this much face-to-face contact. You ran your business and she was a teacher. But now…" DemiVeemon squawked as Davis reached up and pulled him down so that they were face to face.

"It's not about that," Davis said.

"Davis…" DemiVeemon began, only for the man to interrupt.

"Okay, okay. It's _kind of_ about that, but hear me out. You know Kari meant… _still_ means a lot to me, but trust me, I've moved on. It's just… Well… I let her down. Everything that happened to her and TK and Tai… I guess I'm just afraid that she hates me or something."

Davis gave a dry laugh. "I know it's stupid," he confided, "but I just can't help but wonder about it sometimes."

DemiVeemon puffed his cheeks out, considering his partners words for a moment.

"Yeah," he agreed, though he wasn't entirely sold on the notion that Davis didn't still harbor feelings for Kari. "It _is_ dumb. You know what's not as dumb but still is anyway?"

"What's that?"

"Showing up for work late."

Davis groaned. "This is _not_ how I am, I swear."

"Tell that to _Ken!_ Not me!"


	39. Episode 8: Torn Rose

Rika finished tying her hair into its traditional ponytail, only half-paying attention to her mother as she prattled on about her upcoming photo shoot.

_Modeling!_ she thought scornfully before grabbing her schoolbag and exiting her room, pausing only long enough to bid her mother and grandmother goodbye before stepping out into the yard. Her mother called out a long goodbye while her grandmother simply smiled between sips of tea. She wasn't entirely sure what to make of that. It was obvious that her mother hadn't been told about her being a Tamer – something for which Rika was immensely grateful as that was the last thing she needed right now – but with regards to her grandmother it was very hard to read her.

_At least she listened to me when she asked me about what I was doing as a Tamer,_ she thought, remembering their brief 'talk' when she arrived home following the rescue of Guilmon. Still, listening and being judged were two different things. What did she _think?_

She shifted her grip on her schoolbag as she approached the gate, once again thinking of how Renamon had looked when Dokugumon nearly killed her and then of Takato's pleas when he was begging Rika to call off her partner's attack.

The sound of her feet on the path to the gate sounded unnaturally loud to her ears. She felt as though she entered the eye of a storm where she had only a brief window to hide before it started again.

She wasn't at all surprised when she pulled open the door to find Ken and Davis standing at the entrance, their partners evolved to Stingmon and Raidramon respectively for transportation, arms raised to knock on the door.

"Great," she frowned, releasing the door.

"Hey yourself," Davis grunted while Ken shot him a warning look.

"We wanted to take a few minutes to talk to you about something, since we didn't get a chance to do so yesterday…"

_"Rikaaa…!"_ came the call of Rumiko from the porch as she slipped on her shoes. Rushing down the path, she drew up behind her daughter, who schooled her face to a neutral expression. "Rika, who is it that you're talking too…?" she began, only for her eyes to widen in recognition as her eyes fell on…

"Davis?!" she exclaimed, one hand going up to her mouth in surprise. Rika raised an eyebrow at the pair, having not expected this. "What… What are you…?!"

"Uh… Hey Rumi…" Davis became a little embarrassed. Despite the number of recent visits he hadn't expected to really meet with Rumiko this soon due to her reportedly busy schedule. "How are you?"

"How are _you?"_ Rumiko laughed. "It's been years since we last saw each other! The last time I heard about you, you made the cover of Time Magazine! What brings you here?"

"A…change of scenery?" Davis replied hesitantly.

"Davis is my partner," Ken replied, bringing out his credentials and presenting them to Rumiko. "We represent a detective agency dedicated to handling digimon affairs. There have been reports of an IceDevimon in the area causing trouble for the local digimon. Your daughter reported on it and we're following up on her for specific details."

"I…see." Rumiko beamed a small smile at Rika, whose expression returned to neutrality. Internally however, the redheaded girl was awash in confusion.

_Why are they covering for me?_ she wondered. _They didn't with Mom and Sora. So why…?_

"Then…by all means," Rumiko continued. "Will you be staying for very long?"

"Unfortunately no," Ken shook his head. "We've got a crime scene to investigate after this."

"Too bad," Rumiko smiled regretfully, giving Davis a onceover. "Maybe next time then."

Turning to her daughter, she gave the girl's shoulder a light pat. "All right, I'm off to work now. Have a good day." Looking back at the Digidestined, she waved. "I hope you find your bad guy."

"W-We definitely will," Davis stammered, blushing lightly before coughing in embarrassment. _Jeez… Look at me. It's like I'm in high school all over again._

"So what's this you want to talk to me about," Rika asked as soon as her mother was out of earshot.

"If you could drop by our place after work," Ken said, giving her their business card. "I have a proposal for you that will be beneficial for both of us."

Rika took it, eyeing the man with suspicion. "And if I don't?"

"It's your decision," Ken replied, meeting her gaze. "I won't force you."

"But if I don't play ball, I might lose Renamon. Right?"

Ken was silent for a moment while Davis watched him carefully, for once not interrupting.

"I'll leave that for you to figure out," he said finally, turning away. "We'll see you later…or not."

Rika clenched her bag strap angrily as the pair headed off. They were… _toying_ with her!

Growling in frustration, she turned and stormed away in the opposite direction, not caring that it would take longer to get to her school that way. If worst came to worst, Renamon could transport her.

"Dude, why didn't you answer her question?" Davis asked as soon as they were far enough away.

"Yeah," asked Raidramon, padding next to his partner. "She broke the law after all. The most obvious answer should be that she'll lose Renamon and have to deal with the courts."

"Psychology," Ken replied with a simple shrug. "Rika's the sort of person who doesn't respond well to feeling like she has no choice in the matter. She'll have all day to stew about this."

"That sounds like something Genghis Khan would do," Stingmon observed. "Leave an opening that she'll take and then close it on her."

"The Romans fell for it too," Ken nodded. "It's a very effective. If this was one of her competitive games or even a match between us, she might actually appreciate it."

"That's…That's pretty awful dude," Davis said, looking at his friend in amazement.

"It helped us survive a battle or two," Ken pointed out. "You pretty much have to be awful in some way to do it in the first place. Remember, I was the Digimon Emperor once."

"That was different, Ken, and you know it."

Ken shrugged. "Anyway, Rika will either show up or she won't. That's her choice." Turning to Davis, he grinned at him. "I'm more interested in Rumiko's reaction to you. She seemed a bit interested in you."

Davis snorted. "I'm already in a relationship Ken."

"A long distance one. _Very_ long distance and you only get together how often? Or talk to each other? The time difference makes it very hard. You two only really hook up when you're out of the country or when she visits which was…" Ken tapped his chin thoughtfully. "When _was_ the last time either of you two did that?"

"Last year," Davis admitted. "We talk though! We keep in touch."

"I know," Ken nodded. "Not saying you two can't make it work, I'm just…worried."

"Aw, c'mon Ken. I can handle it. Don't worry so much about me. We've got a job to do!"

"Of course," Ken grinned before looking at Stingmon. "Well… Let's get a move on."

**###**

"Permission to speak candidly, sir?"

Takeru looked up at Yolei as she stood at his office door. Raising an eyebrow at her presence, he flicked his lighter closed and set a file down on his desk.

"Go on," he said, leaning back in his chair.

"You were reckless last night," she said to him. "Ken was there in that Digital Zone we destroyed. So were Davis and Kari… _and_ three children. They barely managed to get out in time before we deleted the Zone."

"They were the anomalous signals that were detected," Takeru said simply – not a question, a statement – causing Yolei to tighten her hands together into fists.

_How can he be so calm about it?_

"They _were,"_ she said tightly. "We nearly killed them. Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

"There are always casualties in war," Takeru remarked simply. "You know that as well as I do. How many digimon or humans did we have to order into battle and have die as a result? How many others were killed because no one knew where they were or what they were doing?"

"That's _not_ the point!" Yolei exclaimed heatedly, taking an aggressive step into the office before catching herself. "I _suggested_ that we should study the phenomenon in more detail so we _knew_ what we were up against! The anomalous readings looked like digivice signals! But you decided to use an unapproved program to solve some bureaucratic pressure from upstairs! Not everything is a nail for you to hammer down you know! What if they were all _killed_ because of your order?"

Reaching up, Takeru took off his sunglasses and looked at Yolei. For the first time, she realized that his expression was hard – stone-like in its demeanor and at once her anger took pause to consider what she saw.

_I don't think I can remember the last time I saw him smile,_ Yolei thought with quiet realization. _Takeru… Just what did you have to do to yourself to get this way?_

Yolei had a suspicion that it wasn't something he did to himself, but rather what was done _to_ him.

"Is that all?" Takeru asked, his tone stark and unyielding. Yolei shivered.

"That depends," she said after a moment. "Are you going to make the ice crack beneath me now?"

"I will do whatever I have to do in order to protect humanity and the digital world," Takeru replied simply, replacing his sunglasses on his face. "Report to your station, Ichijouji."

Yolei pressed her lips together into one thin line, unhappy by his response.

_Takeru… Just what_ happened _to you?_

**###**

Takato, bereft now of his goggles for the time being, sat at his desk and waited for class to begin. He looked worried, something that Kazu had commented on but Takato had, awkwardly, laughed him off.

_"Wrong? What are you talking about?"_

_"You came in with the teacher, Chumley. You've been doing that a lot lately, and today's the first time you showed up looking like you're about to walk on coals. What's up?"_

_"Nah, there's nothing wrong. You're being crazy Kazu."_

As strange as it sounded, Kazu _wasn't_ being crazy.

"Listen up class," Ms. Kamiya spoke up authoritatively, catching everyone's attention. "There's been numerous reports of a child playing in Shinjuku Park after dark."

There was a chorus of confused questions being thrown out at this, but Takato wasn't surprised to hear about it. Ms. Kamiya had informed him about this on their way to school and asked him if Guilmon had been breaking out of his 'home' to terrorize park goers.

As far as he knew such was not the case. Guilmon _did_ break out once in a while, but that usually was in response to a bio-emergence.

As far as he _knew_ of course. He couldn't monitor his partner's movements at all times unfortunately.

"I don't think I need to tell you of this," Ms. Kamiya continued. "It could very well be a small digimon being mistaken for a child as some digimon do live in the city, but just in case I do, _no_ wandering around after dark, okay?"

As a group, the class raised their hands. _"Okay!"_ they all replied. It was a formality of course, or at least it would be in some cases. Takato could foresaw himself having to break that curfew much like he did a couple days ago when he had to save Guilmon. It was, ironically, the _hazard_ of the job.

Others on the other hand…

"Guess what I heard?" Kazu laughed, hours later during their break. "Get this guys, there's some kind of pint-sized pyromaniac loose in the park." Making a disappointed face he sighed. "Wish I'd thought of that."

"Me too," piped up Jeremy while Kenta laughed.

"How do we know you _didn't,_ Kazu?"

Studying his drawing of Growlmon for any further refinements he could make, Takato shifted uncomfortably in his seat. The possibility that it was Guilmon weighed heavily on his mind. Could it really be him?

_No… He couldn't have done it. He's been doing good lately with staying out of trouble. Why would he break out? I mean…what is there for him to do at night? There's no one to play with after all…_

"So you wanna know what I heard?" came the voice of a copper-haired girl wearing an orange and red-striped T-Shirt – one of Jeri's friends, Ayaka Itou and the class's resident tomboy – as she spoke to a group of girls around her. "This will _really_ make you mad!"

"Really?" said another one of Jeri's friends, Miki Nakajima, eagerly. "Tell us!"

"Some kid is going around picking on couples in the park while they're _kissing!_ Can you believe it?"

_Uh oh…_

There followed a chorus of outrage from the girls.

"It must be a _boy!"_ one of the girls said angrily, and as if they were of one mind, Ayaka turned her gaze over toward Takato's group, causing him to stiffen at the sudden attention.

_Why's she looking over here?_

"Yeah, it's a boy all right," she said, sounding no less angry than her companions. "Come on. Confess!"

Standing up from his desk, Kazu glared back at her. "Don't look at me!"

"Confess to _what?"_ exclaimed Kenta defensively. "We haven't done anything! Girls never play fair!"

Passing by while carrying some books for her next class, Jeri Katou stopped briefly to offer Takato a warm smile.

"No one thinks it was you," she assuaged him. "Don't worry Takato."

"Ah…" Takato was about to say 'Thanks' as their eyes met, but no sooner did they do so did the boy feel a sudden warmth flush across his face and he abruptly turned away. Unable to meet her gaze, he stared down at the drawing he made last night, trying to erase the odd feeling of discomfort that suddenly washed over him.

_Oh Guilmon… What have you gotten us into this time?_

**###**

"You think it was Guilmon?" Henry cocked his head to one side and raised an eyebrow at Takato as he leaned against a tree, a worried expression on his face. With school over, Takato had sought him out, unable to meet up with Ms. Kamaya due to a meeting she had to attend. Henry obliged, seeing that he looked like he needed to talk to someone about what was on his mind. "I don't know, Takato. He doesn't look like a kid to me."

Takato's eyes became lighter now, his mood seeming to instantly improve. "Hey, that's right!" he said excitedly, pushing away from the tree. "Can you see him with a backpack? Full of food?"

In his mind's eye, he saw his partner wearing just such a thing and looking over his shoulder, an adorable expression on his face. Unable to help himself, he burst into laughter. Henry, sharing the same image, quickly joined him, however their mirth was interrupted as Terriermon dropped out from the tree, using his ears to suspend him from the branches.

"Wise up guys," he told them sagely. "They just think it's a kid 'cause it's too small to be an adult."

"Did I ask you?" Henry asked as Terriermon folded his arms across his chest. When the tiny, but long-eared Rookie didn't respond, Henry continued. "Didn't think so." He looked back at Takato. "Anyway, I heard the principal telling the teachers they have to start patrolling the park tonight. They'll probably find out who it is."

Takato's mouth fell open at that and he suddenly began to panic. "But…that's horrible! What if they find Guilmon? I've only got a temporary license to be his partner still!"

"Momentai!" Terriermon chirped, finally tumbling out of the tree and landing gracefully on his feet. "Ms. Kamaya's going to be out there too, so she won't see it as a big deal. Maybe she'll pass it on to the others."

Takato's alarmed gaze dropped to the ground. "I…I'd better go see if she's out of her meeting yet. I've got to talk to her."

"Takato, she just…started."

Henry's words came too late as the boy turned and rushed back into the building. Sighing, he looked down at Terriermon, who giggled.

"Guess he doesn't remember things very well when he gets upset. Kind of makes me wonder how he remembers to tie his shoes and get dressed in the morning with how high strung he is all the time."

"Be a good digimon," Henry sighed. Anyway, I guess that's about all we can do for now. Let's hope that this time things go over smoothly."

"Like a train wreck?"

"Terriermon…"

**###**

_"Tai? Taiii~!"_

"Yeah, okay, I'm up…"

Groaning, Tai cracked his eyes open. He felt…tired, as though he had slept like the dead. His limbs felt stiff and there was a light pressure on his chest.

_Getting old sucks,_ he thought before looking down and finding himself staring into the brown eyes of a pink, fleshy ball with long ears.

"Déjà vu all over again," Tai groaned, dropping his head back. "How long have you been there, Koromon?"

"Since Oikawa dropped me off here last night," the pink In-Training form of Agumon said. Tai's eyebrows rose at that and he sat up, accidently pushing his partner off his chest in the process.

"Oikawa?! Where…?"

Hearing a giggle, he looked up to see a glowing figure with fin-like arms flying over him. A sad look fell across his face and he held out an arm for it to land upon, which it did with great joy.

"Hey there," he said softly to it. "Glad to see that you're still alive."

_Yukio Oikawa…_ he thought sadly. _One of the many casualties of the Great War. This is all that's left of you. Your real voice…gone. All that's left is…this…gnome thing. A digital life form that digivolved out of whatever was left of you. Gennai said that this was your innocence; torn from you when you were being tortured to death by Barbamon…_

As if sensing his thoughts, the 'gnome' flew away, burbling to itself and joined a number of other gnomes flying in a ring up in the sky where a glowing, translucent rose hovered; a soft moon casting a dull, red light against the night that surrounded the landscape. Pulling out his digivice, he checked the screen and was pleasantly surprised to find a signal beeping in the direction ahead of him. Somewhere in the direction of the rose.

"That's improvement," he nodded. "All right. Let's see who's out there."


	40. Episode 8: Shadowed Silence

Sora and Biyomon stood amidst the hustle and bustle of the airport, checking the time on her cell phone.

_She should be here any minute now,_ she thought to herself before the sound of an all too familiar voice caught her attention. Turning in the direction of its owner, a smile spread across her lips.

"Sora!" Mimi called, running toward her, hand waving in the air. Calling out in return, the brown-haired woman ran over to her friend and soon enough they were crushing each other in a powerful embrace, taking an extra step to spin each other around before finally settling in place, laughing into each other's shoulder. Mimi's brown hair fell over Sora's face, blinding her to the amused looks they were getting from passersby. She didn't care though. Mimi – the one woman in the whole world she would call the closest thing she had to a sister – was home again.

_I just wish it was under better circumstances,_ she thought, remembering Izzy's absence. Feeling the need to speak, she opened her mouth, only to suddenly start spitting, feeling a strange, tangled sensation on her tongue. Her shoulders started to shake again in laughter; laughter which quickly proved to be contagious for her friend.

"Your hair is getting into my mouth," Sora giggled after several seconds of the two of them hugging each other and doing nothing but laughing.

"Sorry," Mimi replied, pulling away and doffing her cowboy hat at the Digidestined of Love. "I thought about tying it back or cutting it, but I kept putting it off. I just haven't had the time for it."

"Being lazy?" Sora asked in amusement.

"No," Mimi shook her head. "I've just…had a lot of things on my mind." Bending down, Mimi gave a cute wave at Biyomon. "And how are you? You keeping Sora out of trouble?"

"She's _always_ getting into trouble," the pink-feathered digimon laughed. "We have stories to tell you."

"Stories, huh?" Mimi glanced at her 'sister'. "Do I dare ask?"

"Not if you want to sleep at night," Sora grimaced. "I haven't told you about Rika yet."

Mimi suddenly looked alarmed. "What happened…?"

"Not here." Sora shook her head. "Let's find somewhere a little quieter. Less cameras and fewer eyes."

"Right," Mimi nodded, adjusting her purse as they resumed their walk toward the next gate entry – the one reserved for digimon passengers. "Anyway, like I was saying," she resumed, changing the subject for the time being. "I've had a lot on my mind."

"Izzy," Sora nodded, playing along. "There still hasn't been anything new to report."

"Or if there is, they're keeping it from us," Mimi scowled as they neared the next gate. "You know as well as I do how these things work. We're not working with the government anymore, so we're on a 'as they think we need to know' basis." She tilted her head at Sora suddenly, a thought occurring to her. _Less cameras and fewer eyes… Rika… Has she done something involving the government?_

"Mimi… I don't think that's the…" Sora sighed, only to stop as the other woman to turn her brown eyes toward her. "Okay, yeah, you're right. But this isn't quite the same thing."

"Hmmm…" Mimi hummed as they stopped at the gate, finding a green-skinned digimon with roots for feet and a great, purple flower sprouting out of its head waiting for them. Taking a single quick stride, she pulled her partner into a massive hug.

"Mimi…" Palmon laughed, wrapping her arms around her partner. "We were only separated for a few minutes."  
"After all the other times we've been separated, even a few minutes feels like forever!" Mimi laughed, burying her face in the crook of her partner's neck. "Now hush and let yourself be squeezed."

"Oh Mimi…"

"So nostalgic," Biyomon laughed. "So where are we going?"

"I know of a place," Sora winked at the trio.

**###**

"Ken's place?" Palmon asked as they approached the location of Ken's agency.

"It's bug free," Sora said as they stopped in front of the door. "We can talk there as free as we want without interruption."

Taking hold of the doorknob, Sora pushed it open and let everyone in.

The state of the office caused Mimi to wrinkle her nose. A group of heavily cluttered desks, papers piled everywhere, while on the ceiling, a fan with a broken blade spun lazily. Upon their entry, a pair of young women – little more than teenagers – looked up. One of them, a blond girl with short hair and copper-colored eyes stood up, a warm smile on her face.

"Welcome to Ken's digital detective agency. How… Oh! Hello Mrs. Ishida."

"Sora is fine Megumi," the brunette smiled. "You don't have to be so formal."

"She's only going to be anyway," laughed a dark-haired woman sitting next to Megumi – Miki Kurosaki. Mimi blinked, recognizing the white black Data Link Digivice that hung at her hip. "There's no sense trying to convince her otherwise."

Megumi shot the other girl a sharp glare before returning her attention to the two women and their partners. "Ken and Davis are out for the moment, is there anything we can help you with?"

"If we could use the privacy room…" Sora began, pointing in the direction of the so-called 'privacy room' – which was actually the break room – indicatively. Megumi smiled and bowed.

"Yes you may. I'll be sure to let Ken know that you're here when he gets in."

With a nod and a glance, the four entered the break room and closed the door behind them with a click.

"You're _sure_ that it's safe here?" Mimi asked, looking at the metal chair – an old, beaten thing with spots of rust that made it look as though it had been fished out of a dumpster – with concern. "This place isn't exactly…"

"…up to code, I know, but trust me. Appearances aren't everything." Seating herself down, Sora pulled out a chair for Biyomon to hop up on.

"Izzy helped design the safeguards to this place," the bird digimon said helpfully. "He guarantees privacy for whatever you want to say."

"Hmmm…" Mimi said, her eyes tracing a crack in the wall paint with a grimace before cautiously seating herself down. Sora noticed her holding her stomach gingerly as she settled in.

_Ah…_ she thought in quiet realization. _Yeah. That's right. She's worried about her unborn child._

"So…" began Mimi, adjusting her seat while holding onto the corner of the table tightly in case the chair did happen to fold underneath her like paper. "Those two girls back there… They're Tamers?"

Sora nodded. "Second generation from Izzy's iC division. They use the same model as the Tamers we helped arm during the war."

"I stopped keeping track of digivice models after the D3's," Mimi sighed, massaging her forehead now that she was confident her chair was going to hold her. "Oh, and what was that I heard about Davis being with Ken?"

Sora chuckled. "There's a lot to catch you up on."

"Why don't you start with Rika then," Mimi began, folding her hands together on the table expectantly. "That sounded like it was pretty serious."

Sora dipped her head slightly in acknowledgment. "Yeah... It is. And you won't like what I'm about to tell you."

"Oh dear…" Mimi winced, tightening her hands together.

**###**

Rika strode down the street toward the address Ken had given her, a little bit later than she would have liked but she didn't want to show up there dressed only in her school uniform. Broken-heart T-shirt, belt, jeans, digivice and cards clipped to her waist… Her 'battle gear'. She simply felt strange without them. Anything else felt like she was making herself vulnerable.

_This looks to be the place,_ she thought, turning her gaze up at the building in question. She had to admit she was…somewhat disappointed in its appearance. It looked half run-down and not at all like any of the police stations located around the city. They were polished.

_This looks like it could_ use _more than just polishing,_ she thought.

_"Rika,"_ whispered Renamon's voice in the back of her mind. _"They're coming…"_

Turning, hand going toward her digivice, she saw Davis and Ken alongside their respective partners arriving, Ken with a folder in one hand and Davis with a bag of takeout food in the other. She relaxed a little…but _only_ a little.

"Well…" she began, keeping her face neutral to disguise the anxiousness she felt beating its drum inside her chest. "Here I am. So what are we going to talk about?"

"Nice to see you too," Davis quipped as Ken nodded to her. Approaching the door, he pushed it open.

"If you may…" he gestured.

Rika hesitated, and she felt Renamon sensing it through their connection.

_"Rika…?"_

_I'll be fine,_ she thought back before stepping inside. _This won't take long._

Together, they stepped inside, leaving Renamon to scowl at the building's exterior.

**###**

"Davis," greeted Megumi, rising from her chair. "Ken. You have visitors in the break room."

"I'll see them in a minute," Ken replied, setting his coat on a hook and indicating for Rika to meet him at the desk in the far corner. "Davis, why don't you and DemiVeemon see who they are and let them know I'll be there after I take care of some business first."

"Sure," Davis acknowledged, setting the takeout on a nearby table and hustling on over. Looking up, Wormmon brought his claws together.

"If it's all right, I think I'll go pop in some brownies. Everyone worked hard today after all."

"Whoo!" exclaimed Miki and Megumi from behind their desks eagerly. Wormmon's brownies were the stuff of legends in the office. For them, they would brave the Dark Ocean itself to have a taste.

"Sure," Ken laughed before glancing at Rika. "Would you like any or…?"

The girl's answering stare was enough. Shrugging, he led her toward the other side of the office. Taking a seat behind his desk, he gestured to Rika to do likewise. Pulling her hands into tight fists, Rika remained standing.

Ken shrugged mentally. He didn't care for theatrics or displays of defiant bravado. Leaning forward he got right down to business.

"I'm going to make this quick. I'd like for you to work with us."

Rika blinked at that. Of all things she had expected, this was not one of them. Her mind scrambled, searching for a reason why she wasn't having her digivice confiscated and being arrested, but coming up with nothing at the moment, she decided to play along.

"There's a catch, isn't there," she said. Not a question. A statement. Ken nodded.

"There is. You see, as I'm sure you've guessed, you should, by all rights, be under arrest for what you've done. Destroying wild digimon going on a rampage is already tricky business as it is. Azulongmon is understanding since he mostly leaves individual digimon to their own devices, but others are not of the same mind. The Olympus Twelve are a rising power and not bound by the treaty we have with the Celestials or the Harmonious Ones. The Royal Knights don't care one way or another and answer to a power much higher than any of the groups we've encountered.

"Considering what we went through during the War with just the powers of Darkness, we'd rather not make anyone mad."

Rika remained rooted where she was, unmoving and quiet. Yet her violet eyes remained fixed on Ken's grey ones.

_A Tamer never walks away from danger…_

"There's also the business of your attacking another Tamer's digimon. Hazard or no Hazard marking, it's not your jurisdiction to decide what happens to another partnership. You aimed to not only delete a digimon in the real world – a serious offense during peacetime operations – you displayed a willingness to _load_ said digimon, something that is definitely illegal."

Again, Rika remained silent. On that score, she did feel guilty. Quietly she had to admit that she may have…jumped the gun with regards to Guilmon and Takato. In spite of how they looked – a clueless kid partnering up with an _extremely_ dangerous digimon – they both turned out to be quite harmless. She wasn't sure what she thought about them beyond that, but she didn't expect anything dangerous from them, that much was certain.

"And you're going to recruit me," she said finally. "Why?"

Ken leaned back in his chair, bringing his hands together in contemplation.

"I could go on about a number of reasons why… Your skills and talents for example. You've digivolved your partner to the Champion level already and are quite accomplished in the use of your cards… Or the fact that Sora vouched for you, but none of those things are the reason why."

He broke his hands apart and placed them on the desk again. "The tunnel."

Rika narrowed her eyes. "I don't get it."

Ken chuckled lightly, hiding his smirk behind his hands. "I see," he said. "Good. I think it's best if you consider what was so important about what you did there that made me want to consider recruiting you."

"This is ridiculous," Rika said, feeling a little exasperated at the adult. "I could take this offer and lie to you. What makes you think I won't do that?"

"Because you won't," Ken said simply, causing Rika to tilt her head to one side in confusion. For his part, Ken saw no need to clarify his statement.

_Let her stew about it,_ he thought to himself.

"Anyway, I'm going to need an answer."

Rika clenched her hands into tight fists, glaring at the man's desk. She hated this. She felt as though she weren't being given a choice.

_I might not get arrested right away,_ she thought to herself. _This guy would have done so already but he's not for some reason. Either way, I doubt I can just go on in secret for much longer. He's probably got a lot of information on me already._

She felt her skin crawl ever so slightly at that. She hated being under a microscope.

"Fine," Rika answered after a long moment of silence. _I hate this… But I have to protect Renamon._

"All right," Ken nodded. Reaching into a drawer, he pulled out a sheet of paper. "We're going to hammer out the rules of your employment here. I can't deputize you officially, and we're going to need to get you a license for your partnership. Overall, this is going to impact how you work with the other Tamers."

"The _other_ Tamers?" Rika raised an eyebrow, already dreading the answer.

"Yes," Ken answered. "The two you've met. Takato and Henry. Takato especially, since he's the least experienced."

_Terrific…_ Rika groaned, resisting the urge to roll her eyes.

**###**

Sora closed the door on the scene between Rika and Ken with a soft click, letting out a breath she didn't know she had been holding.

"That's a relief," she whispered, leaning her head against the door. Behind her, Davis _harrumphed._

"I don't know if it's a relief. I still think she needs better punishment than working for us."

"Whatever happened to the Davis who was trying to convince everyone to forgive Ken and having him join the team?" Mimi asked, arching an eyebrow at the man. Davis winced.

"Okay, I deserved that," he admitted. "But…I don't know. That girl was out of control. Ken… He was different. I don't know how to explain it. I mean, I know I felt like he should be punished when we were first fighting but…" He thought back to the climactic final battle, when he made his way to the power generator for Ken's base of operations. The golden Digi-Egg that had revealed itself… _speaking_ to him to save Ken. "Ken was just…different. That Golden Digi-Egg believed in him. It was a _part_ of him. It knew he needed saving…"

"And Rika doesn't?" Sora asked, folding her arms together.

Davis sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "Great. You're making me sound like _I'm_ the bad guy…"

Mimi pressed her lips together and placed a hand over his. "Sorry. I'm…kind of not in the loop about all of this myself. I'm still processing the fact that this girl not only killed but _loaded_ digimon. Even if they were rampaging, that's… Well, you already know. But Sora vouches for her, and I trust her."

"I know," Davis said, looking down at the table. "I wish this were easy though. It just doesn't seem right. Things are different from when we were kids."

Sora chuckled. "Welcome to the world of adults, Davis."

"Hey!" Davis bristled. "You know I'm…" He paused as a light bulb turned on inside his head and he pointed at Sora, laughing lightly. "…oh. Almost had me there," he grinned.

"A little late though," Mimi giggled. "Don't change Davis. For our sakes, please."

Before Davis could say or do anything else, the trio heard a loud crash from the kitchen and Wormmon cursing up a storm amidst a flurry of apologies from the other digimon partners. With an exasperated sigh, Davis got to his feet.

"I'd better go see what mess they're making in there…"

**###**

Time wore on as Renamon sat on the rooftop, keeping an eye on Ken's agency. She could feel Rika's emotions through their link; a swirl of colors that continuously shifted but remained in a familiar, tense pattern. She shivered slightly.

It took her only a second to realize that it wasn't because of their connection.

"IceDevimon," she said, not bothering to turn around.

"Nice to see that your senses haven't gone soft," he mocked. "The question on everyone's mind though is…what about you?"

"What do you mean?" Renamon asked, _now_ turning to face the ice demon. A smirk crossed his features and his crimson eyes glinted devilishly at her.

"Our master has another test coming up for you," he explained to her. "Not something that will be as…damaging to you as last time, so don't worry. All that's required is for you to do one thing."

"What is that?" Renamon asked, getting to her feet to face him more fully. She somehow suspected that whatever their master had in mind, it would be something far from easy.

"Do nothing," IceDevimon said simply. "You'll know when the time comes. We're sending in another one of our rearguard to deal with a threat while it's vulnerable. All you have to do is not act. Is that clear?"

Renamon narrowed her eyes. "Crystal," she said as IceDevimon faded into thin air, still smirking mockingly at her.


	41. Episode 8: Fear to Anger

Darkness fell over the city of Shinjuku, finding Rika winding her way home, a thoughtful look on her face. In one hand she held a small booklet – something of a list of do's and don'ts Ken had given her to better inform her about laws regarding digimon as well as other various information she might need – and in her back pocket lay the temporary license and Ken's agency information. The card wasn't ideal, since he couldn't deputize her, and he preferred that she stay out of trouble as much as she could until things calmed down, but the card was there for in the event that she had to involve herself in a fight, she would have someone who was at least official to intercede on her behalf.

It all seemed…too good to be true.

_Why?_ she wondered, turning down a corner. _Why is he doing this if I'm a criminal? Because of the tunnel? What the heck did I do down in that tunnel that made him want to hire me?_

She thought about it carefully. _The fact that I didn't run away from danger? Is that it?_

It seemed like the only possibility. After all, Ken stated he was considering approaching the other two Tamers as well and that she would need to… _work_ with them.

Particularly the _Gogglehead_ – Takato – who needed training on using his cards with his digivice.

_Stupid…_ she thought, ignoring the booklet she held. In it, the other information she apparently 'needed to know' were Takato and Henry's addresses and numbers. People she didn't need at all.

Still… As much as she hated to admit it, the Gogglehead _was_ inexperienced, and certainly needed help. If he should end up in a situation like she did with Dokugumon…

_He had been when you ordered Renamon to attack his partner,_ a part of her thought quietly, causing her to tighten her grip on the booklet. Approaching the door to her home, she pushed open and stepped through the gate, grateful for this day to be at an end.

As far as tonight went, she didn't have to do anything further with regards to Ken, his agency, or anyone else.

**###**

_Another night, another Wild One,_ Yolei thought, her sensors beeping incessantly at her as the wall screen displayed a red dot marching angrily across its surface. "Sensors indicate a digital anomaly," she reported to Takeru below while, behind her, Tally's chair rose up behind her.

"Another _confounded_ Wild One, I suppose," Takeru replied, flicking his lighter open and closed in rapid succession. "Put a tracer on it, Ichijouji."

Yolei glanced at him. He sounded irritated, no doubt frustrated due to pressure he kept getting from the higher ups.

_He still hasn't moved to do anything about any of the wild digimon that have recently bio-emerged and become partnered with humans,_ she noted, remembering his conversation with the Secretary.

Yolei tapped in the commands, but was quick to swear mentally as she encountered a complication.

"It won't lock!" she reported, becoming anxious. "It's getting away from me!"

Takeru watched as the digimon signal continued to march along the wall, his eyebrows knotting together angrily.

_It's time for a more global approach,_ he thought.

**###**

Kneeling down in the darkness of the concrete bunker, Takato watched his partner as he tore up the already destroyed ground. Placing his lunch box inside the hole, he quickly buried it up again.

"Why are you burying your dinner?" Takato asked, somewhat flummoxed by this odd habit of his partner. He wasn't a dog or a cat, yet he insisted on behaving as one.

"Because then I get to dig it up later and eat it!" Guilmon replied happily without even looking at him. To him it might as well be the most obvious thing in the world. Why humans didn't do it more often confounded him no less than his habits did Takato, but he was content to ignore it since it didn't seem to matter.

"I had to ask," Takato laughed lightly, getting to his feet. 'Logic is not your middle name."

"Nope. Don't have a middle name," Guilmon chortled.

"Maybe we can fix that," Takato smiled. "Anyway, I've got to get going now. Promise me you'll stay inside tonight, okay?"

"Okay," Guilmon hummed as he continued to secure his meal. Takato looked at him with a touch of concern, wondering whether or not Guilmon heard him.

_This must be how my parents felt when I was a kid,_ he thought to himself, stepping away reluctantly before finally exiting the bunker. Locking the gate behind him, he raced down the stairs. "I am so _late!"_ he exclaimed to himself. Upon reaching the bottom, he took one last look up at his partner's hideout.

_Please… Listen just this once!_ he prayed, as though his partner or whatever deities existed out there would hear his plea and consider the request.

Unfortunately he had his doubts. Guilmon had a hard time listening to him on a good day, and deities, whenever they weren't purposefully trying to trip him up, seemed to ignore him purely out of their own amusement.

Realizing that time was ticking by, he resumed his trek homeward, hoping that tonight would be one of those nights Guilmon would have the good sense to sit the evening out and sleep. The last thing he wanted to hear first thing tomorrow was his partner being taken to a digimon pound because he scared some hapless couple and was caught by the teachers.

**###**

_Of all the people I have to patrol with tonight, why did it have to be_ him?

Casting her flashlight around the park, Kari lighted upon Mr. Mori and she forced herself to repress a grimace. She hated feeling annoyance toward her colleague, but with the way he flirted with her, _years after_ she made it plainly clear that she wasn't interested in him… It had a way of wearing on the nerves after a while.

By her side, she felt Gatomon's tail brush up against her leg as she looked up.

"Kari?" the feline digimon asked, wondering why she stopped. Hearing this, Mr. Mori turned toward them, an eyebrow raised.

"Ms. Kamiya? Is something wrong?"

"Nothing," Kari sighed, shaking her head as she resumed walking. "Well… It's just… Oh, this is silly."

"Huh?" Mr. Mori tilted his head to one side as he drew up next to her.

"It was just a silly, childish prank. You don't see the principal out here patrolling the park, do you?"

"Oh, Ms. Kamiya!" Mr. Mori began with a touch of a self-righteous tone in his voice. Hearing Gatomon snicker, she glaned out of the corner of her eye to see Mr. Mori blushing ever so slightly in the dim light of a street lamp.

"Isn't it our responsibility to see to the moral safety of our charges?" he continued. "They're so impressionable. So innocent, and this…"

He jerked to a halt suddenly, spying a man and a woman on a park bench, enraptured with each other. The woman's head was tilted back as the man pressed his mouth against hers. Both of them moaned against each other as he pulled away and nuzzled against her neck. Quickly looking away, he spied another couple passing by, hugging each other tightly.

"…isn't!" he squeaked finally. Realizing he had fallen behind, he rushed after Kari. "Ms. Kamiya!"

"Oh Mori, will you grow up?" she berated him, frowning, not deigning to even look at him. She couldn't decide what was worse about him; the fact that he flirted with her when she made it clear she had no interest, or the fact that he kept trying to score points with her by puffing himself up to look morally righteous…while simultaneously lacking the will to back it up.

"Ms. Kamiya," Mori pressed, coming up behind her. "It's not safe for a woman alone!"

Green eyes shone in the darkness as Gatomon eyed him, and with a smirk she fingered her claws.

"Oh Mr. Mori~," Gatomon sang. "Would you like to repeat that?"

"I-I don't mean…" stammered Mori, shaking under the feline's amused gaze. "I-I'm sorry! It's just…" He swallowed, not sure what the proper defense was here. Those claws looked _awfully_ sharp. "It's just…you can't protect her all the time. S-Someone should be by her side… Just in case!"

Kari felt something snap inside her and she tightened her grip on her flashlight.

_"Mr. Mori!"_ she suddenly said loudly, causing him to look up at her, face flushing badly.

"Uh…yes?"

Trembling with barely restrained anger, Kari managed to reign herself in at the last second.

"I…think I left my oven on or something," she said after a moment. It was a lame excuse, but she didn't care anymore. "I need to go home right away."

With that, she broke off and turned in the other direction, Gatomon trailing after her as they left Mr. Mori behind, cowering in the park path as he looked around frantically.

"Wait!" he gasped. "Don't go! W-Who will protect the children?!"

_Oh for goodness sake, Mori…_ she thought bitterly. She felt a tug on her side and in the next instant, Gatomon was on her shoulder, rubbing her face with her cheek.

_"Finally,"_ she purred. "I didn't think we'd ever get rid of him. I don't understand why he keeps it up even after all this time."

"Some people are just a little too self-absorbed," Kari sighed with a shake of her head. "But let's forget about him."

"If you say so." Gatomon looked over her shoulder in the direction they abandoned Mori. "Do you think that he'll be all right?"

"I'm sure," Kari replied. She felt a little regretful for doing so, but she just couldn't stand hearing his patronizing voice giving himself airs anymore. Any longer and…

She shuddered to think of just _what_ she might do.

"So what are we going to do?" Gatomon asked.

"We might as well keep patrolling a little longer," she sighed. "It's still our job – _my_ job anyway. You don't have to be here."

"Kari, we've already been through this before. Don't start getting cold feet on me just because Mr. Mori was saying about how you need to be protected. It's not exactly smart."

Kari winced, realizing that Gatomon read right through her.

"You're right," she nodded, thinking back on the war and how many Digidestined and Tamers lost their lives because of something like this. Small mistakes like one's pride easily led to a downfall.

_As Lucemon learned the hard way,_ she thought, reaching up to scratch Gatomon's ears. Purring, the feline rubbed up against her face.

"Mmm… That's nice."

"You are incorrigible," Kari smiled, continuing her ministrations. Nuzzling her back, they resumed their patrol.

**###**

Impmon hopped through the park, bounding from tree to tree, looking for his next victim…or tried to. For some reason he found himself just not very much into it. Oh, for sure, his last two victims screamed and ran off as they always did, one of them losing their shoe and tripping on the sidewalk, but it just didn't elicit the same reaction out of him. Landing on a limb, he leaned against the trunk and folded his arms across his chest.

_Something's wrong with me,_ he mused grouchily. _Terrorizing humans has been the best thing in the world since I got here, but all of a sudden I'm not into it? What am I, sick?_

He scowled. He didn't feel sick, so he wasn't sure what the problem was.

_Maybe I'm just hungry,_ he thought. _If I grabbed some grub, then I might be interested. All this terrorizing people sure makes me work up an appetite. Now…what to eat…?_

He smiled as a thought occurred to him. He knew _exactly_ where to go.

**###**

"Box the bread, bury the box," Guilmon hummed to himself as he finished piling the dirt over his prize. As he did so, he heard a whistle behind him.

"Huh?" his ears perked up and he turned, catching sight first of a familiar shadow before spotting its owner – Impmon. "Hey!" he grinned, walking over to him. "Did you come for more bread? Sorry, but I just buried it."

Impmon turned around and leaned against the iron cage, doing his best to appear disinterested in the red-scaled digimon.

"Hoping it'll grow?" he asked sarcastically.

His eyes turning skyward, Guilmon tapped a claw against his chin thoughtfully.

"Ohhh… I never even thought of that," he replied, the idea appealing to him. _Does bread grow like trees?_ he wondered.

Growling in frustration, Impmon shoved off from the gate and stabbed a finger at him. _No fun. No bread. All there is, is just this stupid Pineapple head!_ Already this evening was turning into one huge bust. "I was making fun of ya, Pineapple Head! Don't you get it?" Before Guilmon could answer, he continued on. "But how could you? How are you going to learn anything locked up in a stupid cage?" Stepping back, he placed a hand on one hip and assumed an authoritative stance. "Come with me my little rent-a-cycle and have some fun."

Again Guilmon's claw went to his chin, pondering Impmon's words. "Hah? Me go with you?"

Impmon crossed his arms and glowered at him. "That is, if you're not afraid of the dark."

At that, Guilmon began to hop up and down excitedly. "Not afraid! Not afraid! Not afraid!" he repeated with a laugh, desperate to prove that there was nothing in the dark that he needed to be afraid of. He lived here after all and was in the dark seven days a week. What was there to fear?

"Good grief." Unconvinced, Impmon jumped down the stairs, leaving Guilmon confused.

"Huh?"

Turning, Impmon gave him a disapproving look. "Chicken!"

"Don't like chickens," Guilmon replied, not understanding why Impmon was calling him one. "Takato said promise me you'll stay inside tonight, so I stay."

Impmon made a disgusted sound. "Takato told me to stay inside. If Takato told ya to set your foot on fire, would ya do it? I think not, so why listen to him this time? Hm?" Impmon smirked at Guilmon, but upon seeing that the digimon would not be swayed by words, he began to saunter off. "Ah forget it, you're no fun."

"Awww…" Guilmon moaned, standing up a little higher. "But I am fun, really."

He stood there for a moment, watching Impmon's back retreat into the darkness. He felt shame wash over him. Was he really no fun to be around? Takato thought so, but Impmon for some reason didn't. He could prove him wrong but doing so meant disobeying Takato…

_But… If I don't… How will Impmon know I'm fun? Maybe… Maybe this one time? As long as Impmon understands that I'm really fun he'll stop trying to get me to come out at night? Maybe we can play during the day when Takato's around?_

That sounded about right. Surely Takato would understand. Indeed, in his mind's eye he saw Takato standing in front of him, a disapproving frown on his face as he heard Guilmon's tale, explaining just _why_ he had to leave the hideout to play when he was told not to. As his story came out, his expression would soften and Takato would pat him on the head.

_"I can't stay mad at you boy,"_ he would say. _"You should listen to me better but at least that digimon knows you're fun."_

With that, it was a simple trick to unlock the gate and race down the stairs after Impmon.

_"Wait for me!"_ he called.

**###**

Takato's walk seemed to get slower with every step he took away from the hideout. He felt a chill crawl down his back. "Something…just doesn't feel right," he murmured to himself. His mind traced around, trying to determine why. Part of it was because of his concerns about Guilmon, but another…

_It's like… It almost feels like I'm being watched. But why…?_

He stared at the ground, continuing to roll the thought through his head until he spotted a pair of nicely shined shoes standing in front of him. Noting the direction they were pointing in – his – he drew to a stop and looked up, gasping as he realized that they belonged to a police officer.

"Huah!" he gasped, his back suddenly becoming erect.

"I say, boy," the policeman began staring at him in an intimidating manner, "are you the one?

Takato blinked at the officer's words. "Uh...the one?" It almost sounded like something out of a manga, but that didn't make any sense whatsoever.

"The one interrupting the progress of human courtship!" the officer clarified. To Takato this made even less sense.

"I don't know…" he waffled. The officer did not seem to like this response and jutted his massive jaw out as though he a dog looking to chew on something and Takato made a convenient toy.

"Boy," he repeated, "are you or are you not interfering with the oscillatory activities of consenting adults?"

"I don't understand!" Takato exclaimed. _Oscillatory? What does that even mean?!_

"What part don't you understand?" the officer demanded, raising an eyebrow at him. Blanching a little at his tone, Takato dropped his head.

"Well…all of it?" he asked tentatively, hoping that the officer would be a little less adversarial toward him and explain things better.

He was sadly mistaken.

**###**

Kari and Gatomon reached a set of stairs at the edge of the park, and the pair blinked as they spied the police officer interrogating the poor boy.

"You mean to tell me you don't comprehend your native tongue, boy?!" the officer exclaimed incredulously.

"Uh oh…" Kari said, already guessing what was going on. _No doubt Takato stayed out late to play with Guilmon despite the warning I gave him in class today…_

"Yes sir! Uh…ah…no sir! Uh… Whatever you want and I mean that sir!" The words just tumbled out of Takato's mouth as the officer piled on the pressure, trying to find something to defuse the situation.

Adjusting his belt, the policeman glared at Takato, clearly not being defused.

"Boy, you're starting to annoy me…"

Takato nodded helplessly, realizing that he was utterly failing here. "Me too, sir," he admitted.

_Oh dear…_ Kari thought, suddenly rushing down the stairs toward her student. "Takato!" she called out to him, catching the attention of both the officer and the Tamer. Smiling nervously as Gatomon hopped down from her shoulder, she drew to a halt, her mind racing frantically for a believable enough story.

"You see officer," she began, "I was walking him home, when we ran into one of my friends. I…uh…we were talking a little longer than I was expecting to… You know how it is when you meet someone you haven't seen in a while…so I thought I'd send him on ahead since we were almost out of the park…"

The cop raised an eyebrow and leaned forward a little, causing Kari to pull back a little.

"You…" the officer began, pushing back his cap. "I recognize you. You're one of those Digidestined from the war, aren't ya?"

"Uh…yes?" she replied hesitantly, wondering what his reaction would be. Not everyone liked digimon and some even blamed the Digidestined for the war.

_One of the reasons why I don't visit home all that much anymore,_ she thought.

The cop with drew and then offered both her and Gatomon a small salute. "All right then," he nodded. "Carry on."

With that, the officer turned and strolled away, leaving Takato and Kari to stare after him, perplexed before turning to each other.

"Thank you, Ms. Kamiya," Takato said, letting out a sigh of relief. "I don't what to say."

Kari placed a hand on her hip as she smiled at him.

"Say you'll stay out of the park at night from now on," she said, indicating for him to follow her. "At least until this business with the person pranking couples clears up. How's that for something to say?"

"Yes ma'am." Takato's head bobbed up and down enthusiastically. "Uh but I'm not the one."

"She never said that you were," Gatomon piped up, folding her arms together. "But you have to admit it does look suspicious to anyone who doesn't know you."

"Suspicious?" Takato mumbled to himself. "Yeah… I guess so."

_But what's more suspicious than a big red dinosaur with a hazard mark on his chest living in the middle of the park?_

He thought back to his first encounter with Rika, and how she berated him for having a Hazard digimon in the first place.

_"Don't want to fight?_ _Are you kidding me? I_ _knew_ _you were just some little boy with a pet digimon! Do you even_ _know_ _what digimon you have there you goofy little Gogglehead? It's got a hazard sign on it! Don't you know what that means?"_

_Hazard digimon… Lucemon had one in the war,_ he thought to himself. He was still no closer to understanding anything about what the Hazard sign meant. Hadn't thought much about it either since, so far, no one outside of Rika had given him any trouble.

Although…now that he thought about it… Whenever he brought him out in public, didn't he get strange looks? Whispers that sounded just a little bit fearful? Living alone in the park with no partner nearby to keep watch on him was a recipe for someone to panic and think he could be a problem. Already he was imagining what would happen if the police found him. He saw them throwing Guilmon into a truck and driving away while he chased after them helplessly. He could hear Guilmon howling for him to come save him…

_They'll lock him up and I'll never see him again. Or worse, they'll think he's a vicious monster. A threat to society!  
_ The vision continued unabated, and this time Takato saw police armed with guns and riot gear, gunning down Guilmon, blowing chunks out of his body as he collapsed to the ground, screaming in pain.

_"He's a threat to society!"_ one of them shouted. That did it. All the anxiety he felt building throughout the day after hearing about the patrols and the students looking at everyone sideways as the criminal bubbled up to the surface. Without even thinking, he spun on his heels and tore off back in the direction of the hideout.

"I won't let them do it!" he shouted, quickly vanishing into the park.

"Takato!" Kari exclaimed as the boy's sudden movement caught them by surprise. "Gatomon!"

"I'm on it!" the feline said, bounding after the Goggle-wearing boy. She was astonished at his speed. Takato tended to be average in athletics and she was a digimon to boot – easily his superior. Yet he was already outpacing her!

"Hey!" she shouted after him. "Takato! Wait up already will you?!"

It was no good. Takato took a turn down a path and disappeared.

**###**

"Are we there yet?" Guilmon asked as he and Impmon tramped through the park.

"No," Impmon replied.

"Are we there yet?" Guilmon asked again, causing Impmon to roll his eyes in exasperation. _Pineapple head just keeps asking over and over… What? Does he think we'll get there immediately just because he asks?_

"No!" he replied a little more sternly before changing his mind. "Uh…yes."

_That should hold him a little longer,_ he thought, pushing his head through a bush and taking a look around. Guilmon's head soon followed and he peered at a park bench containing a man and a woman, standing close to each other in front of a statue of a seated man. Guilmon looked at Impmon questioningly.

"Um… Excuse me, but am I supposed to be having fun?"

"Just watch and learn!" Impmon smirked, ducking back into the bushes. Shrugging, Guilmon focused on the couple as they stared into each other's eyes, smiling happily at each other.

"Hirko," whispered the man while the woman giggled and pulled him close to her.

"Hiroshi."

"Hiroko…"

"Oh, that's nice," Guilmon smiled. He didn't smile for long though as a fire suddenly lit up around the couple and began to circle around them. Spotting it, the pair shrieked. Popping out of the bushes, Impmon gave an animalistic yell, causing the couple to tear off into the depths of the park, screaming all the more loudly.

"Did you see their faces?" Impmon gasped, doubling over with laughter as he pranced around. "That was absolutely priceless?"

Guilmon rose from the bushes, not comprehending what was so funny. "Huh? Was that it?" Pulling himself out of the brush, he turned away from Impmon. "I don't get it. I'm going home."

"Hm?" Impmon turned toward him and began to hop up and down, one fist raised in the air angrily. "Where you going? I was just getting warmed up!"

His pleas for Guilmon to come back fell upon deaf ears, causing his shoulders to slump. Turning with a groan, he lit a fire on a fingertip, staring at it for a moment before glancing up at the statue. He scowled at its almost accusatory stare.

"Hey! What do you think you're looking at, huh? Ba-da _boom!"_

With that, he angrily threw the fireball at the statue, leaving a small dark spot on its forehead.

**###**

_I have to be the lousiest tamer on the face of the earth,_ Takato thought as he all but flew up the path to Guilmon's home. _Why'd I have to make him so big?  
_ The hideout finally came into view and he flung himself at the gate, making the bars rattle with the impact.

_"Guilmon!"_ he shouted, only to be greeted with an empty bunker. His arms shook as tears welled up in his eyes.

"No…" he whispered. "You promised me you wouldn't go outside…" Clenching his eyes shut, he banged his head against the gate in frustration. "I'll never see you again except on the news: _Digimon Autopsy!"_

"Who are you talking to, huh?"

"Oh! Huh?!" Spinning around in surprise at the unexpected sound of Guilmon's voice, he saw his partner climbing the stairs, looking at him questioningly.

"Do you have a new friend?" he asked.

His anger and frustration bubbling now, he marched up to his partner and placed his hands sternly on his hips.

"Where have you been?" he demanded heatedly. "You scared me to death!"

"Oh Takato, I wish you had been there," Guilmon laughed. "I scared some people and they screamed really loud and they ran away but it really wasn't any fun so I came home and here I am."

Takato's face became ashen at his partner's words… No… His _confession!_ After all this time… All the doubts and denials he had been telling himself…

"I can't believe it… It really was you…"

Something snapped inside him. Clenching his eyes shut tightly, he threw all his frustration into his voice and out at Guilmon. "That's _it!"_

"Huh?" Guilmon backed off, surprised by his Tamers sudden change in temperament.

"Guilmon!" Takato struggled to express how he was feeling. He grabbed his hair, pulling on it, but all he could get out was, "I just can't take this anymore! You hear me! I've _had_ it with you! I've _had it!"_

The anger continued to rise inside his chest. It was exploding like a volcano in him, but the only place it could go was on Guilmon… The _last_ person he wanted to see right now. With nothing else left to say, he ran past the dinosaur and stormed down the stairs, leaving a very bewildered and saddened Guilmon to watch him go, ears wilting.

"Ohhh… Takato. What did I do wrong?"


	42. Episode 8: Crimson Death

Yolei's fingers flew across the panel in tune with Tally as they attempted to catch the digital intruder on their scanners. Unfortunately for them, the creature deftly evaded – or outright _destroyed –_ their Tracers, preventing them from getting a decent lock with any of their anti-breach programs. Down below, Takeru cursed as once more his new and illegal Yuggoth program failed to locate its target.

_Time to give him the bad news..._ she thought, grating her teeth.

"Bio-emergence is now imminent. I can't stop it!"

She glanced down at Takeru, who was currently shaking with rage at his computer screen. Managing to compose himself, he turned to look up at Yolei.

"As soon as you know where, scramble the response teams and contact every Digidestined in the area. I want this Wild One on lockdown as soon as possible!"

"Yes sir!"

**###**

Impmon kicked a can down the park path with a growl of frustration.

_I can't believe he just ditched me like that!_ he cursed, kicking the can again, this time with more force, sending it flying. _Just like Fox Face… Just like the Nightmare Soldiers… Just like_ everyone!

Anger throbbed through every fiber of his tiny body as he gripped his hands into tight fists. His fingers bit into his palms through his red gloves, but he ignored the pain. It was irrelevant compared to what he felt burning in his heart.

_"Was that it? I don't get it."_

_Stupid Pineapple Head… What does he know? He's locked up in his cage so often he wouldn't know what was fun if it punched him in the face!_

Still, the saurian's words echoed inside him. Reflecting on them, he had to wonder…did Guilmon just have a different standard of what counted as fun? Did he simply find it boring to scare humans?

Folding his arms behind his head, he proceeded to march down the path until he cleared the tree line. "Ehhh… Humans are beginning to bore me," he said to himself, deciding that perhaps – just _perhaps_ – Guilmon was on to something there. "Always so predictable." Yes, that was it. That was why he was becoming frustrated as well. When you knew what they could do – and he didn't doubt Guilmon probably frightened his fair share of humans as well, as many digimon tended to do without meaning to – human reactions lost their luster.

Smiling to himself, he continued. "So pathetically… Huh?"

He froze in place as something abruptly pulled at his senses. Turning, he saw a field of fog materializing out of thin air, and inside it was something… _big._

Something… _someone_ he _knew!_

"That's more like it!" he exclaimed gleefully, charging in the direction of the field. "Someone's bio-emerging! Ba-boom!"

**###**

To the passing viewer unfamiliar with digimon, they would have seen a tall, animal-like beast with pale flesh and black, leather-like skin covering its body, its color broken only by the white, skull-like insignia on its shoulders. Tattered wings stretched, testing the field, only to retract when the fog provided surprising resistance.

"Hey there, four-eyes!" barked the loud voice of Impmon as he climbed up onto a rooftop to get a better view. "Whatcha doing, huh?"

On cue, four glowing-red eyes opened and zeroed in on the diminutive Rookie, narrowing into razor-like slits. "Impmon…" he growled, recognizing him. "What are _you_ doing here?"

"What do you care?" Impmon smirked. "I'm having the time of my life and that's all that matters! Unlike you, I mean, look at you. You look like you're kinda stuck there." He grinned as the larger digimon snarled at him. "Awww… I'm sorry. Little baby Devidramon can't get out of the digital field?"

Laughing suddenly, he slapped the angry-smiley face on his belly. "Guess you're not so tough now, huh? What do you say to that? _Not a thing!"_

Sticking his tongue out at Devidramon, he made a teasing face and spat. Seeing this, Devidramon roared, but Impmon was not phased in the least. Indeed, he pranced, laughing all the more. "Oooh… I'm _so_ scared! Big baby 'Dramon's going to take Impmon's head off? That's so sweet!"

Leaning forward, he stabbed a finger into the field, promptly causing the field to dissolve around Devidramon as he continued his taunts.

"Nani-nani poo-poo, Baby 'Dramon's doo-doo! Who's the man? _I am!_ Hoo-ya!" Hugging himself as his stomach began to cramp up with laughter, movement caught his attention. Cracking open an eye, he saw Devidramon stalking toward him, a smirk drawing across his face, revealing a very nasty set of fangs just slathering for a piece of vengeance.

"C-Come on…" Impmon began to backpedal, stepping away to give himself some distance from Devidramon. "I didn't mean it. I'm laughin' with ya!"

Snarling, Devidramon slammed a powerful claw into the building Impmon stood on just as he reached the edge. The roof quaked, causing Impmon to tumble backward and into the bushes below. Laughing at the Rookie, Devidramon flapped his wings.

"So long, Impmon," he chortled darkly. "You're lucky I already have a mission to take care of."

With one final roar, the dark dramon-type digimon took to the sky, leaving Impmon to stare after him, at once eyes wide with disbelief that he survived and simultaneously relieved that Devidramon was gone.

"Uh… This is what's called a 'tactical error'…"

**###**

The night was quiet so far, as was the office as it was devoid of the chatter of Miki and Megumi. Their seats were vacant, Ken having sent them home as it appeared that their services wouldn't be required for the remainder of the evening.

_Besides,_ he thought, plugging the last wire in. _It's a school night. Kids shouldn't be out this late._

"Okay…" Ken began, booting up his new computer. "That…should do it…"

The computer was a thing of beauty. While it was far from the specialized equipment Izzy had custom-made for him, it was a Godsend in the aftermath of Calumon's visit to the office which had utterly destroyed so many necessary aspects of his agency.

"A good thing you kept backups," said Sora. "This Calumon sounds like quite the handful."

"He certainly was when he was here," Ken remarked, plugging in drives so he could restore his agency's functions. "Fortunately he seems to do all right on his own. I haven't heard of him causing any trouble since that incident at the elementary school's soccer field."

"Knowing him he probably won't stay that way for long," Davis said, entering the office and passing hot mugs of coffee to Sora and Mimi. The two women took the mugs gratefully and took a sip.

"Oh!" Mimi's eyebrows shot up. "This is…" She took another sip before eyeing him coyly. "Davis…"

"What? I can make coffee you know," the man began defensively. "My face didn't end up on Time Magazine for nothing."

"I know, but hearing about it and trying it out are two different things. Back during the war I heard all about how terrible your coffee was."

Davis frowned a little. "Let's see what you can come up with when you've got practically nothing on hand except rain water and whatever you can scrounge up from the area."

"I seem to recall a recipe involved boiling socks and sawdust," Sora said in amusement, causing Davis to roll his eyes in exasperation.

"There was a _Tapirmon_ in the area messing with us. We were all exhausted…and hallucinating a little…because we hadn't slept in _days. Anything_ starts to sound like a good idea when your pots and pans start talking to you."

"No one could argue with the results at least," Ken added with a dry chuckle though a small tremor passed through him in recollection. "We can all definitely say that we weren't falling asleep anytime soon on that stuff. Davis' coffee won the Battle of Hiroshima."

"There, see?" Davis folded his arms behind his head triumphantly as he sat down. "Ringing endorsement right there."

"I saw Ken shiver a little," Mimi said impishly. Davis shrugged.

"I had it too. I don't blame him."

"At least you admit it," Sora said, lowering her coffee mug for Biyomon so she could sample some as well. "So what do you think about Rika? Do you think she'll work out here?"

"The redhead?" Davis shifted in his seat uncomfortably. "Sora, I don't know if I should say anything. I mean, you two are pretty close…"

"It's all right," Biyomon said, lowering the coffee mug and licking the sides of her beak. "We would like to know."

Davis sighed, still looking as though he were heading for the guillotine.

"I don't trust her," he said after a couple seconds. "But…I don't know. It's like I said before. She wasn't like Ken. She wasn't being controlled. Everything she did was her own choice."

"Just like it was her choice to join us in the tunnel."

All eyes looked over at Ken as he tapped a key on his keyboard and stretched languidly before shaking his head.

"I think she'll be all right," Ken said, getting up from his chair to join them. "That might already be obvious since I invited her to join our operation, but that made me believe that she would be fine. She didn't have to join us, and she stuck by Takato and Henry all the way to the end."

Sora smiled. "I told you."

"I know." Ken took another sip. "Had to see it for myself though. No offense Sora, but you're too close to her. _You_ didn't know what she was up to until it nearly exploded in your face."

Sora looked a bit put out by that, but she nodded reluctantly. "She's got a lot of learning to do. I'll be there for her."

"Thanks Sora," Ken said. "I have a feeling that we're going to need your help on this. On what may be coming."

"What do you mean?" asked Palmon, mirroring Mimi as the woman raised an eyebrow.

"Do you know something, Ken?" Davis asked. The dark-haired man shook his head.

"Just…an itch in the back of my mind," he admitted. "It just seems strange. Three new digivice models in such a short period of time, and the issue with IceDevimon… And Takeru…"

"What's this about Takeru?" asked Sora, becoming alert. She barely heard anything about the Digidestined of Hope anymore beyond the fact that his work was top-secret and at the federal level.

Ken opened his mouth to say something, only to be interrupted by the sudden ringing of his cell phone. Pulling it out, his eyebrows rose as he spotted Takeru's number.

"Speak of the devil," he said in English before hitting the reply button. "Hey Takeru. Is there something I can help you with?"

He listened to the man on the other end for a moment, his eyes narrowing, before turning to the others. "We seem to have a situation on our hands…"

**###**

Rika placed her cell phone down on the table as Renamon appeared behind her.

"Are you ready to fight, Rika?" she asked, knowing what the call had been about and who it had been. A digimon had bio-emerged, and it was a _big_ one.

Gathering up her cards and digivice, she stood up, smirking.

"Is that a rhetorical question?" she asked, heading for the door.

**###**

"Takato! Gatomon!" Kari called as she strode through the park, trying to find her partner and her student. Cursing under her breath, she was no longer sure if she was on the right path. A part of her was sure that Takato had taken off running to Guilmon's hideout, but in the darkness of the park she lost track of him very easily.

She hated the darkness. More and more over the years, she found herself losing her way in it, almost as if it were trying to _drown_ her.

_No… Don't think like that!_ she told herself, tightening her grip on her flashlight. That way led to madness… The Dark Ocean, and everything about that place that she tried to forget.

Coming to a stop, she took several, deep breaths to steady herself. Finally settling down, she took out her digivice and activated the scanning function.

"Come on, Kari… Get a grip on yourself and use your head for a change," she berated herself. She could find Gatomon easily with this after all. Izzy had been able to upgrade it just enough for it to accomplish that much…

She paused as she heard something… A loud beating of wings upon the air. Turning, she looked up to see something dark and _huge_ rushing toward her.

_"Kari!"_ she heard someone – Gatomon by the sounds of it – yell from behind her, but there was no time. Clutching hold of herself, she heard a loud roar as a digimon flew over her, the tip of its tail narrowly missing her as it thrust itself skyward once more. As the wind died down, the Digidestined of Light turned shakily around, her now messy hair falling in front of her eyes.

"That…" she declared, swallowing nervously as Gatomon drew to a halt in front of her. "…was no pigeon."

"It's a Devidramon!" Gatomon explained. "It bio-emerged while I was at Guilmon's hideout."

"Was Takato there?" Kari asked. Gatomon shook her head. "No, but according to Guilmon he had just left. They had a fight of some kind. Guilmon's not sure what he did wrong, but either way, he's going after that big nasty dragon in the sky."

"Oh no…" Kari whispered, her grip tightening on her digivice. She wasn't sure if Takato would join in on the battle, but whether he did or not, it was certain that whatever was going on between them would only cause problems that, with their level of experience, would only prove fatal.

"We've got to do something about that Devidramon," she said determinedly. "Are you ready, Gatomon?"

"Are you?" the feline asked, a skeptical tone in her voice. "Kari, you look…"

"I'm fine," Kari interrupted. "I'm just shaken, but I'll be all right. Let's do this."

Pointing her digivice skyward, she shouted the words that would ignite her partner's digivolution.

_"Digi-Armor Energize!"_

**###**

Takato ran through the streets, not really paying much attention to his surroundings. All he knew at the moment was the anger and frustration that he felt…and the _guilt._ He had yelled at Guilmon – his partner. The one person in the whole world who was literally a part of his heart and soul, and he _yelled_ at him.

What could he do though? He had told him over and over, again and again to _stay put._ To not break out or anything, and yet it seemed like every time he turned around Guilmon was doing _exactly_ that and getting into trouble. Trouble they could _not_ afford, especially since he was a Hazard digimon…

A burst of light blanketed the sidewalk, causing the goggle-wearing boy to draw up short and turn in its direction. He saw something winged emerge from the light and fly out from the park, aiming toward a large, black shape that just barely stood out against the sky.

Takato felt something heavy drop into his stomach just then as he knew precisely what was going on. A Wild One had bio-emerged. Someone was heading up there now to fight it, but it was certain that they wouldn't be the only one.

"Guilmon…" Takato whispered, taking off at a run again, this time in the direction of the dark, demonic creature flying through the air.

**###**

Devidramon lit atop a tall building and surveyed his surroundings. Extending his senses, he sought out his target. He could feel it – the Hazard spawn – drawing closer of its own accord.

_How convenient,_ he thought with a devilish smirk. _It comes to its own doom._

His gaze falling upon a bridge, he saw a small, red dinosaur rushing along it. Devidramon's eyes widened in surprise.

_This is the creature I was bid to destroy?_ he thought. _This thing is not worthy of one such as I…_

Still, orders were orders, and he was not going to ignore them. Flapping his wings, he rose to his feet, preparing to dive toward his prey…

_"Rosetta Stone!"_

Only to howl in rage as a stone slab smashed into his face.

"Who…?" he growled, brushing the stone fragments from his eyes as he searched for his attacker. He quickly spotted a digimon – an Armor-level of Light by the name of Nefertimon – circling about for another attack. He _tsked_ to himself in annoyance.

_Digidestined… Of course._

The Armor-digimon was finishing its pass. Moving quickly, Devidramon rose into the air and with a great flap of its wings rushed toward it. Instead of charging in for the attack though, it swerved suddenly, causing a great gust of wind to surge out and slap at Nefertimon, disrupting her flight and sending her toppling end over end. It wouldn't take her out of the fight permanently, but it would hold her off long enough for him to do what he set out to do.

Only fools attacked a Digidestined head on when they had work to do.

Folding his wings behind him, he dropped down toward Guilmon and raised his claws. They gleamed bloody-red in the moonlight as he slashed at the bridge.

**###**

Takato ran toward the bridge, spotting his partner as he suddenly drew up short to look up in his direction.

_"Guilmon!"_ Takato called before a gust of wind blasted over him. Nearly falling over from the force of the gust, he grabbed hold of the railing to steady himself. As he did so, he managed to catch a glimpse of a massive, vicious-looking digimon before the bridge suddenly exploded in a flash of crimson.


	43. Episode 8:  Devil's Due

Alarms were ringing throughout Hypnos as Takeru poured through surveillance footage, trying to locate the digimon that had bio-emerged.

"I don't understand," he muttered to himself, flicking his lighter closed with a loud snap. "At its level it should still be trapped in the digital field… Without a gateway it takes time for a Wild One to stabilize…"

That had not been the case it seemed. The response teams had found the remnants of a digital field, but not the digimon that was supposed to be there.

"Global surveillance system is now online," Yolei reported. "Tracking Digital Residue now sir."

Looking up at the screens, he spotted the path of digital residue tracking across city, stopping somewhere on the outskirts of Shinjuku Park.

"Divert all teams to that location," Takeru ordered. _"Now!"_

He flicked his lighter open and then closed one again, his expression dark and angry.

"That's enough," he growled at the computer screen as the digital residue began to extend again. "This is starting to become a personal embarrassment."

**###**

Dust and debris blew over Takato as the dark, winged digimon flew over him. Cracking open his eyes, he saw that the bridge was utterly in ruins, cracked and broken with part of it having fallen to the streets below. On the other side stood Guilmon, looking a bit perplexed as he tracked the wild digimon across the sky.

_Guilmon… Oh thank goodness he's all right,_ Takato sighed with relief as he withdrew his digivice and activated the scanning function. A holographic circle rose above the screen, displaying the image of the digimon and its stats. Takato's mouth fell open in awe, recognizing it from the card game.

" _Whoa!_ Devidramon! Man, he gives the evil eye a whole new meaning. Champion level… Virus type…" His gaze dropped down to the attributes, causing him to wince. _"Ouch!_ That Crimson Claw attack of his looks nasty…"

The ground shook as Devidramon came in for a landing, causing Takato's head to snap up. "Uh…! Guilmon!"

His eyes falling on his partner, he saw him standing there, crouching. He heard him growl as Devidramon got into a combat stance, tail whipping violently as he chuckled at the Rookie's defiance.

"You think _you're_ worthy of me?" he asked, stalking toward the red-dinosaur. "How about we see what the truth _really_ is?"

Swallowing nervously, Takato withdrew a card from his pocket, preparing to engage in battle.

**###**

_Oh no…_ Renamon's eyes went wide as she and Rika entered the battlefield. _Not him…_

Devidramon the Executioner. While not the strongest of the Nightmare Soldiers, he certainly stood proudly within their ranks, requiring an extremely powerful Champion to defeat him…and sometimes even then it wouldn't be enough. He bore the scars of his previous victories and defeats proudly, for they were all received in the service of the Nightmare Soldiers. When their army had been larger, Devidramon was counted on for scouting in force, or to waylay enemies chasing them. Sometimes he would be called in for a bombing run or an assassination. It was rare that he missed his mark.

_To think that Guilmon was what IceDevimon was referring to,_ Renamon thought, pitying the hapless Rookie. _I'm so sorry that this had to be your fate…_

Rika came to a stop as Devidramon finally came into view, and she gasped at the sight of him, instantly knowing what kind of power they were up against without even having to consult her digivice.

_Devidramon's going to be hard to handle with his Viral attribute,_ she thought, starting for her cards and digivice. "Renamon!" she called.

"Not this time," the vulpine digimon answered as she materialized into view behind her. Raising an eyebrow, Rika turned toward her, confused. Renamon hesitated, hating that she was holding herself back now, but…orders were orders.

"I can't," she said finally. "This is Guilmon's fight."

A lame excuse. They had never had trouble stealing kills before.

"But…Renamon…" she began, looking back toward the fight with concern. Before she could continue, a voice called out to her.

"Rika! Where's Takato?" Turning, she saw the half-Chinese Tamer running toward her, Terriermon on his shoulder as usual. Rika groaned upon seeing him, not really interested in dealing with his pacifism.

"Up there," she indicated to the other side of the broken bridge with a disgruntled nod, half tempted to ask why he even thought she knew where the Goggle-wearing idiot was. The pair followed her direction and Terriermon gave a sharp laugh.

"Right in the line of fire…"

"That doesn't help," Henry scolded as Guilmon reared back, a crimson glow burning in the back of his throat.

_"Pyro Sphere!"_ he shouted, unleashing a burning fireball at Devidramon. Devidramon slashed one hand through the air, slapping the attack to the side with contemptuous ease.

"Is _that_ all?" he scoffed. Flapping his wings, he drew up into the air, feeling disappointed that he had been chosen to do away with such weak and pathetic prey.

Takato felt a bead of sweat trace its way down his face. His arms trembling he looked down at his digivice, as if remembering it was there for a reason. "Uh… Right!" he nodded, slashing the first card through the reader of his digivice. Sparks flashed as it scanned the data on the card's circuitry.

"Digi-modify! Power activate!" he called. At once, Guilmon felt a great surge of power rush through him, and he tried again with his Pyro Sphere attack. The fireball rocketed through the air. Sensing the greater strength behind it, Devidramon paused in his dive and folded his arms and wings around himself protectively, blunting the blast.

"Better," he laughed, unfolding himself. "But still not good enough."

Takato gaped in surprise. "Aw man! That should've worked!"

Digging back into his pocket, he pulled out another card, one embossed with six wings.

_Maybe if we can get closer…_ he thought, an idea springing to mind.

He quickly slashed it through.

"Digi-modify! Hyper Wing activate!"

Six glowing wings sprouted from Guilmon's back, and the dinosaur rose into the air. Devidramon snorted and lashed out with his tail, slapping the dinosaur back down and causing his wings to fizzle out and vanish. Bereft of flight, Guilmon crashed to into a wall with a cry of pain and slumped down to the ground.

"No… _way!"_ Takato exclaimed. Devidramon dove forward now, claws extended. Panicking, Takato dug into his pocket and scanned another card.

"Digi-modify! _Speed_ activate!"

Barely recovering in time, Guilmon narrowly dodged Devidramon's attack as his claws imbedded themselves into the ground where he lay. He raced around to flank the Viral Champion, but the Executioner was already one step ahead of him, his tail whipping around and catching him off guard, knocking him onto his back.

"Speed is useless here!" Rika shouted, her hands tightening into fists as she and Henry watched the scene play out. "Does he have any idea what he's doing?!"

It sure didn't appear that way to her, nor did it to Henry. So far, Takato had just been reacting and not getting any good hits in upon losing the initiative. While his reflexes had been good enough so far to keep Guilmon from dying instantly, the stress on him was already becoming apparent as he reached into his pocket for another card. His expression was one of ever-escalating panic as he struggled to keep up with events. It was just moving far too quickly for him.

_He's just not experienced enough. He's going to crack!_ she thought, starting to realize why Ken wanted to her to take him under her wing.

With a ferocious strike, Devidramon sent Guilmon slamming into a building.

"Guilmon!" Takato cried, trying desperately to get another card out there to slash. Unfortunately, the corner was caught on the pocket and it refused to budge.

"I'm…I'm running out of cards!" he said helplessly, giving one final tug, only for his entire deck to spill out onto the ground. Dropping down with another cry, he began to quickly shuffle them around, desperately hoping to find _something_ that would turn the tide.

"Oh for goodness sake!" Rika said in exasperation, running toward him. "He's his own worst enemy! Renamon!"

The kitsune digimon winced imperceptibly, realizing what this meant.

Who did she follow? The time to make a decision was here.

Closing her eyes, Renamon prepared to join her partner, only for the shout of a _Rosetta's Stone_ to break across her thoughts. A stone tablet flung through the air and smashed into Devidramon's back. Gasping in surprise, Henry turned to find Nefertimon diving toward them. Upon reaching ground level, Kari jumped off the Armored digimon's back, and with another beat of her wings, Nefertimon took to the air once more, firing twin energy spikes from the top of her mask.

"Ms. Kamiya!"

"Hurry!" Kari ordered. "Takato and Guilmon need our help!"

"Uh… Right!" Henry nodded, pulling out his digivice. "Terriermon!"

"Already on it!" the dog-bunny digimon shouted as he leapt into the air and spread his ears. Feeling the weight of her actions settling heavily upon her shoulders, Renamon was quick to join him. Materializing above Devidramon, she crossed her arms, a sphere of light forming in front of her. Terriermon flew up next to her, green energy forming within his mouth.

_"Diamond Storm!"_

_"Bubble Blast!"_

Devidramon had just finished slashing down Nefertimon with his _Crimson Claw_ attack when their shadows appeared over him. The speed at which he spun around to confront took even Renamon by surprise, and she slashed her arms to the side as quickly as possible so as to get an attack in before he countered. At least so they could give Guilmon _some_ relief so he could regroup.

She had no chance however as the Executioner slashed his tail around with a vicious crack, slamming into Renamon's side and causing her to crash into Terriermon, causing both of their attacks to go wide from their mark and merely take small chips out of the building Guilmon currently lay against.

"Terriermon!" Henry shouted as Rika flipped through her card box, searching for her digivolution modify card so they could even the odds. She cursed upon realizing that she had left it behind in her practice deck. Looking up, she saw Devidramon towering over Guilmon, lording over his helplessness. Helplessness she could see in Takato's eyes as he was about to lose his friend.

**###**

Terriermon found himself somersaulting in midair, but not in the way he would have expected. Following Devidramon's swift dispatch of them, Renamon twisted and grabbed hold of him and spun, coming to a rough landing in the middle of some brush. Twigs and branches snapped and leaves spilled out around them, but they were alive and none the worse for wear.

_Except for Foxy here,_ he thought as the vulpine digimon set him down. She was breathing heavily, no doubt the impact from Devidramon's tail having done more than jar her a little.

"You okay there?" he asked as she forced herself into a standing position.

"I'm fine," she said. Terriermon could see that she clearly wasn't, as she was shaking a little just from the effort of staying upright, but he chose not to comment on it.

"All right," he said. "Thanks for your help back there. I…"

"We _need_ to get back to the fight!" Renamon interrupted, finding herself leaning against a tree for support. Shame flushed through her for this display of weakness, but she pushed it to the side for now. They were in the middle of a fight. They…

Her ears twitched, as did Terriermon's.

"You hear it too?" he asked.

"Yes…" Renamon said, looking around. _I know who that voice belongs to. Impmon…_

Hopping up to investigate, Terriermon roped his ears around the branch and pulled himself up to find a tiny, dark-colored digimon hopping up and down on a sign as he watched Devidramon pummel Guilmon.

"A left! And a right! And a fight, fight, fight!" the tiny digimon laughed. "Now _that's_ entertainment! Look at him go! Old pineapple head is gettin' sliced, diced, minced, and...Oomph!"

Terriermon giggled as the diminutive Rookie slipped and lost his footing on the sign and tumbled over, just barely managing to catch himself.

"Little less enthusiasm old boy," he heard the Rookie scold himself as he hoisted himself back up. "Less on the boom more on the ba."

Dusting himself off, he cupped his gloved hands around his mouth.

"Serves ya right for walking out on me!" he shouted. "I've outdone myself with this one!" Laughing, he leaned back to survey the spectacle. "This is much more fun than scaring humans! Left! Right! Come on! Come on!"

Folding his arms over his chest, Terriermon nodded to himself, remembering a conversation he had with his partner and Takato about the rash of scares going on in the park.

"I knew Guilmon didn't have it in him," he giggled. "Not clever enough. Well, that mystery's solved at least."

However, regardless, it would do no good to Takato if his partner was killed. With nothing more to be done here, he promptly dropped out of the tree.

Hearing the movement, Impmon turned and gave the brush a sideways look. He saw nothing and yet…

"I'm seeing things," he muttered to himself before wiping his nose with a sniff. "It's either that or a dog-eared bunny-rabbit just flew by. _Sheesh!"_

**###**

Guilmon slammed into the wall again and slumped to the ground. He didn't move as Devidramon closed in on him, claws gleaming in the moonlight.

"Guilmon…!" Takato cried, his resolve shaking badly. Next to him, Rika was busily fanning through her cards. She had joined him following Renamon's dispatch into the park and tossed him her _Clone_ card, narrowly saving Guilmon from getting eviscerated by a vicious _Crimson Claw_ attack, but they were still in a bad position. Guilmon was badly hurt and low on energy and Nefertimon hadn't yet recovered from the attack she took – her wings having been badly shredded in midair, with gravity taking care of the rest. As for herself…

_My cards are mostly useless for him,_ she thought, biting her lip. _My deck is built around Renamon, not Dino-Boy._

"Had enough Rookie?" Devidramon laughed. Guilmon stirred and attempted to sit up.

"Ta…ka…to…"

Devidramon's tail whipped out, and the hard, knobby tip split open into three, claw-like appendages and slammed into Guilmon's chest, pinning him against the wall before he could try escaping again.

"No more of that out of you," he growled. "I'm done playing with you. I've tried to determine what it is that makes you such a high priority target, but so far I am unimpressed. You're durable…" He pressed his claws against Guilmon all the harder, causing him to gasp as the air was being crushed out of his lungs. "…but that's all you are. Nothing more."

"Get off of him!" Takato shouted, his anger starting to rise. He began to run toward the battle, only for Rika – nearly missing it in her surprise – to grab hold of him and pull him back.

"What are you doing?!" she exclaimed. "Are you _trying_ to get yourself killed?!"

Devidramon raised his claws, preparing to deliver the final blow.

Takato struggled against the girl, who was now trying to wrestle him into a headlock to keep him still. Tears came unbidden to his eyes as the very real fear that he was about to watch his partner die was fast becoming a reality.

"Get up!" he shouted. "You have to get up!"

"I am…trying…" Guilmon replied, straining against the Champion. It was no good though. He was too strong. He turned toward Takato, his golden eyes apologizing that his best just…wasn't good enough.

"You just have to try harder!" Takato begged, the tears starting to break free and roll down his cheeks now. He pushed against Rika again, this time half dragging her forward before she regained her footing.

"Gogglehead!" she snapped at him, though less in anger and increasingly with frantic concern that he really _was_ trying to get himself killed.

"I don't want to lose you…" Takato continued, his voice cracking as he ignoring her. "You're my best friend."

Behind Devidramon, a small, white-colored digimon with large ears serving as wings flew into view. Calumon, having heard all the commotion, had come to investigate, and now regretted that he had. This was not a game. Far from it. This was more of what he saw back home.

"Ohhh…" he moaned, seeing Guilmon's helplessness.

"I'm…your…best friend?" Guilmon gasped, feeling a sudden rush of relief. "You're not…mad?"

Takato felt his resistance against Rika flag, a small smile crossing his face. "I can't stay mad at you…" he replied, and for an instant, he saw a flash of something – a memory? – of Guilmon sitting in the bushes in the park, watching another digimon he had never seen before torment a couple with a cheap ghost-scare prank. _What was that?_ a part of him asked, but he ignored it, focusing instead on the here and now.

"I can't stay mad at you," he repeated. "And it's my fault for not trusting you, Guilmon."

Guilmon's smile joined Takato's. "Trust me?" he asked, only to grunt once more as Devidramon tightened his grip on the Rookie. His crimson eyes flashed as he looked at the two humans.

_Digidestined?_ he wondered. _Are they why I was called in to destroy this Rookie?_

The girl behind the boy looked familiar. A memory sparked and then…

_Ah! The Digimon Queen! And she's fighting alongside this worthless nobody… Protecting him even…_

Devidramon the Executioner now knew what he had to do. His muscles grew taut as he prepared to strike.

"Goodbye!" he roared.

" _Guilmon!"_

There was red light again, but this time it was not from Devidramon. Light exploded from the symbol on Calumon's forehead, throwing him back as he cried out in surprise at the sensation of power surging through him. A light that was rapidly joined by Takato's digivice and Guilmon as a shell of data surrounded the reptile. Snarling in surprise and pain as the light burned at him, Devidramon snapped his tail back. Data continued to swarm around the sphere, causing it to grow. Takato and Rika's eyes both went wide as they saw what was happening…knowing full well what was happening.

"Oh wow… Bulls-eye, baby," Takato whispered, a broad grin blooming across his face. "Guilmon digivolve to…"

" _GROWLMON!"_

The shell shattered with explosive force, causing Devidramon to retreat. Rising from the smoke emerged the large, muscular, dinosaur-like beast Guilmon evolved into, with a mane of white hair going down his back. Twin horns protruded from his skull and he looked considerably more vicious than before. The Hazard sign which had stood so prominently on his chest was had changed to two smaller ones on his shoulders. Rearing back, the newly evolved _Growlmon_ let out a ferocious roar and began to stomp toward Devidramon.

"That hurts my ears!" Calumon shouted, beating a hasty retreat. The movement caught Devidramon's attention and he turned toward it, only to remember his current predicament. Roaring back at the other Champion, Devidramon took to the air. A golden glow burned in the back of Growlmon's throat as he set his sights on the devil-digimon.

" _Pyro Blaster!"_ he shouted, launching a powerful, shining orb of fire. This time Devidramon dodged. The change in power was far too great to risk taking head on. The shot missed him by a hairsbreadth and slammed into the building behind him, shattering glass and sending stone and metal flying through the air.

_Powerful…_ Devidramon noted. _Should have destroyed him sooner._

What was done was done however. There was no time for regret. Only death. His…or Growlmon's.

**###**

"…happening," Yolei whispered as the sounds of explosions came in through their computer screens, the surveillance system sending them everything that was going on. "I can't believe this is happening."

Takeru flicked his lighter closed. The response teams weren't going to get there in time. This was not going to look good for them. Unless…

"That would be because it isn't."

"What?!" Yolei turned toward him, flabbergasted. Takeru flicked his lighter open again.

"All data, auto-erase," he ordered, flicking his lighter closed for emphasis. "The public will know nothing of this debacle. Ichijouji, you'll be in charge of inventing a convincing cover story."

Yolei's mouth dropped. "You're joking, right?"

**###**

Growlmon slammed a claw into a wall and pulled himself up onto another, non-damaged bridge while Devidramon circled around, considering tactics.

"Back for more?" he taunted, earning him a growl from the newly-evolved Champion. Devidramon laughed. Oh, he was enjoying this fight now. _Much_ more sporting and a far greater challenge than the reptile had been as a Rookie. _Now_ he could taste the full extent of his metal. Diving in, he raised his claws for another attack.

And then a surprise.

" _Dragon Slash!"_ Growlmon shouted, and an elbow spike on one arm snapped outward, glowing brightly with blue electricity. Devidramon barely evaded the other digimon as he lashed out at him with his bio-weapon and the two crashed into each other. Devidramon's claws found purchase on Growlmon's back, clawing at him, but the Champion bit down on one of his arms. He felt pain flash through him, but he held tight, trying to stab deeper through Growlmon's scales.

_Tough hide…_ he mused while below Takato and Rika, now joined by Henry, Kari, Renamon, Terriermon and Gatomon raced out to the other side of the bridge to observe the fight.

"Uh… This is good…" Takato said uncertainly as Devidramon twisted around out of Growlmon's grasp before grabbing hold of him from behind.

"Going up?" he mocked, lifting the Champion into the air.

"Well, maybe it's not so good," Takato groaned, chasing after the combatants.

In the sky, Growlmon struggled, throwing his weight from one side to the other while his claws sought for digital flesh to tear and rip into. Devidramon grimaced. The Champion was little better than an animal at this point, but focused. His attacks were hardly debilitating, and with his durability…

Growlmon's claws caught an elbow, drawing digital blood and causing Devidramon's grip to loosen.

"Going down," he laughed all the same, releasing his hold on Growlmon. The massive digimon plummeted to the ground, smashing through the bridge with tremendous force.

"Growlmon!" Takato shouted as the dust kicked up into the air, blocking his view of his partner. Running up to the ruined bridge, he shouted for his partner again, hoping beyond hope that his friend was still okay.

His response was glowing red eyes burning through the dust like hellfire. Rising back up, Growlmon scanned the sky for his adversary, and quickly found him diving toward him. Opening his mouth, An ember glow lit up in the back of his throat.

" _Pyro Blaster!"_ he shouted, unleashing a torrent of fire that this time fully impacted Devidramon, forcing the three Tamers and the Digidestined of Light to cover their eyes to prevent from being blinded. Flames washed over Devidramon, melting his digital frame and causing him to howl in pain. His body dissolving, the last thing he felt was a _pull_ …

The pull of his data being loaded into Growlmon's data.

**###**

Takato watched as Growlmon glowed softly, the remainder of Devidramon's data drawing into him. No one stopped him… No one _thought_ to, so stunned by what they were seeing that they couldn't do more than stare at Growlmon as the light died down. An eerie red glow burned in his eyes. Closing his eyes, the Champion let out a low, guttural growl before letting out a tremendous roar of victory.


	44. Episode 9: Not as Seen on TV

Riding on Birdramon's leg, Ken heard the roar as the light died down, revealing a massive, crimson-scaled dinosaur with a white mane of hair flowing down his back. The light from Birdramon's wings illuminated the scene of devastation, and already there were people milling about – in the streets and in their windows – taking pictures and posting them online.

_This…is going to be very hard for Takashi to cover up,_ he thought.

"What in the world…?" he heard Sora gasp on Birdramon's other leg. "That's a _Hazard_ digimon!"

"It is," Ken called out to her. "But I don't think you need to worry. It looks like Takato's partner digivolved."

Sora whirled her head about to look at Ken in bewilderment. _"That's_ Guilmon?" Her eyes went wide and she turned her attention back to the giant reptile. _No wonder Rika thought he might be dangerous… That look in his eyes…_

Yes. That look… The way the irises were dilated; the way they glowed with that deep, blood-light. It was as if a monster had been set loose.

"That's not a good look at all," Mimi scowled from her spot behind Sora, Palmon's vines keeping them bound to Birdramon's leg. She glanced at Ken. "Are you _sure_ it was a good idea to let him partner up with a kid?"

"The digital world seemed to think so," Ken said as they drew near, the avian Champion that was their ride circling carefully. Blue and red lights lit up the city streets as vehicles raced up to them. Ken could see that they were emergency crews, law enforcement…and the black vans of Hypnos.

_Great… Just great…_ he thought, wondering just what was going through Guilmon's – or whatever he called himself now – mind. His eyes still had a feral look to them, but he wasn't tracking for any of the obvious potential threats like Birdramon. Instead he seemed to be focusing on one thing – one _person_ – in particular.

One Takato Matsuki, standing just on the edge of the ruined street, looking like a deer caught in the headlights. And behind him stood Rika Nonaka, looking very much the same.

_"Rika!"_ Sora exclaimed as the massive Champion took a step towards the two children.

**###**

Rika moved protectively toward Takato as Growlmon took a heavy, crushing step in their direction, one hand going to her digivice while her heart took a plunge into her gut. This… Just… _this._ The way those gold-colored eyes glared at them…at _Takato_ …was the reason why she went after him in the first place. Hazard digimon were dangerous. There was simply no telling what they might do when pushed.

Or even when they weren't.

"Gogglehead…" she whispered as Growlmon… _growled_. It was a deep, vicious sound, like the sort a dog would make when cornered. She felt her hackles rise in response, and her heart quickened its pace. She glanced at the boy and cursed, realizing that he wasn't moving. He was frozen in place, paralyzed with fear. And he was afraid. Every part of him looked to be trembling. All around them, she could hear people shouting, law enforcement yelling at them to get out of the way.

Takato wasn't however. _Couldn't._ And she found…neither could she.

_He's huge…_ Takato thought, listening to Growlmon continue to growl threateningly. A leaf passed his face and burst into flames from the sheer heat emanating from his body. _He's huger than huge. I know I wanted him to digivolve, but…_ His eyes rose up to Growlmon's, _but now he's so scary. I probably look like an appetizer to him!_

He thought back to when he was drawing Growlmon and blanched. _Why didn't I make him smaller?! I'm just a big jalapeno pepper with legs!_

Food… That was probably all that was going through Growlmon's mind right now. He was just one more thing for him to devour. He was no longer a baby eating small snacks. He was a full-fledged adult! A voracious eater who _needed_ to devour the raw flesh of his prey. And those eyes…

He didn't think Growlmon even remembered him anymore. All those times he saw his partner like this…it was as if he stopped existing to him.

He lowered his head as Growlmon's shadow fell over him, the growling increasing in intensity. He heard Rika gasp behind him – adults shouting around them – but it didn't matter. It was…over. If his partner forgot who he was, then it was no use trying to run. Guilmon had been a part of him, and to lose him like this felt like ripping out his soul. Life…was no longer worth continuing.

_At least maybe I'll give him indigestion…_ he thought before he felt something wet hit the back of his head followed by something that sounded like… _Crying…?_

"Huh?"

Looking up in surprise, he saw Growlmon's eyes had lost their feral look, becoming greatly upset. He sniffed as more tears began to flow and he almost seemed to shrink into himself, trying to make himself smaller so Takato would be less frightened.

"Don't…be…afraiiid…" Growlmon cried, his voice echoing throughout the city bloc. The silence that followed it was deafening, as though the gathered crowd had been stunned by this unexpected declaration. His eyes softening, he started toward Growlmon, missing Rika's shocked expression as she raised a protective hand to stop him, only to hesitate at the frightened way Growlmon was looking at the boy. Reaching out tentatively, Takato touched Growlmon's leg before hugging it tightly.

"I'm so sorry," he said quietly, tears forming in his eyes. "I'm not afraid of you."

Rika's face scrunched up uncertainly, not sure what to make of all this. _This…_ was his relationship with his partner? And yet…

"Was I really that scary?" Growlmon asked, calming down a little. "I-I mean when I was fighting?"

Takato didn't answer as he tightened his grip on Growlmon's leg, remembering the savage way he attacked Devidramon. He was afraid he would hurt his partner's feelings.

_Only if you find huge, scary things scary,_ he thought quietly. Growlmon sensed his feelings through his hug and looked saddened.

"Takatomon… I want to go back to being Guilmon so you won't have to be afraid of me anymore, okay?"

Takato pulled away and looked up at his partner, sniffing as the shock of emotion began to work its way out of his system.

_"That's_ a good idea," he said. "Let's go back to the park, relax, and figure out what to do. It shouldn't be that hard, right?"

Rika narrowed her eyes at that and coughed politely, indicating the massive crowd around them. Looking up, Takato's eyes grew wide, remembering their situation.

"Oh… Okay… Maybe _not_ so not hard after all…"

**###**

Takeru flicked his lighter closed as he stood across from the Digidestined, having finished the last of his interviews with them. He had arrived personally after receiving the report of Growlmon's containment and the defeat of Devidramon. His gaze slid over each of them in turn – Mimi, Ken, Davis, Sora…Kari – his expression unmoving and stone-like.

"My organization is already taking steps to make sure that anything that happened here will not cause a panic." He flicked it open again. "I hope you understand that it is preferred that you not talk about what happened here tonight."

Sora furrowed her brow. So _this_ was what Ken and Davis were about to tell her before their conversation became interrupted. She had sensed the harsh negativity behind Ken's tone.

_I guess I shouldn't be surprised,_ she thought to herself. _After what happened to Patamon…_

She remembered the vacant look in his eyes when she visited him in the hospital after the Battle of Odaiba. It had been a bad day for everyone. Kari missing – _captured_ they soon learned – massive casualties… Akira's body, one of many, hadn't been far from Takeru when he had been rescued and Takeru himself was crippled due to a leg injury while Patamon… Sora winced. Nothing about the news she learned then sat well with her. They didn't even have time to give the Tamers that fell a proper burial due to the volatile nature of the situation. It was as though they had wounds all over the place and the enemy had gleefully rubbed salt in every one of them.

"We understand," Ken nodded, glancing at the others. Everyone else nodded in turn, although with varying degrees of reluctance, not least of all Kari. Sora supposed she had every reason to, all things considered.

With nothing more to be said, the man flicked his lighter closed and turned away from them, moving toward the direction of the emergency crews.

"All right, guys," Davis spoke up with more than a touch of sarcasm. "I guess that's that. Time to pack it in and go home."

"Do you think that Takato kid will be okay?" Mimi asked, picking up Palmon.

"Sure!" Davis chirped. "That's the only good thing out of this. Takeru let him and his partner go without a fuss! That's something at least."

"But…why would he do that?" Mimi asked, looking at the man's retreating back as he continued to flick his lighter open and closed. "That Growlmon was a Hazard digimon and was involved in a very serious fight. No one is just allowed to walk away from something like."

"Maybe he knew ahead of time Takato and Growlmon aren't responsible for all the damage," Sora suggested, placing a hand on Mimi's arm. "He's in a government agency built for this sort of thing after all. He probably has all kinds of video footage."

"Maybe…" Mimi conceded, though she didn't sound very convinced. "We should go check on him at least, now that Takeru's done interrogating us. I'm nervous about why his partner didn't reverse-digivolve like ours did. I don't remember the Tamers we worked with during the War having that problem."

"Takato, Henry and Rika have unique digivice models. I'm not quite sure _what_ they are, but suffice to say they're nothing at all like yours, mine, or the mass-produced Data Link model Izzy made. Their code is similar, but not the same. If I had to guess, someone _other_ than the forces of Light made these digivices. Although why they would exclude such a convenient feature is…baffling." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Anyway, Takato and Growlmon are in the park, so we should probably go see how they're doing."

Turning to Wormmon, he raised his digivice. "You want to help give us an aerial view?"

"Sure," Wormmon nodded. "I don't…"

"Can I do it actually?" Palmon asked, raising a hand. "I haven't flown in a while and I'd like to give it a try again."

Mimi looked down at her partner. "Are you sure Palmon?"

The plant digimon nodded and glanced at Wormmon. "Is that okay with you?"

"I don't have any problems with it. I could use a bit of a rest."

"Okay," Palmon smiled, turning back to her partner. "I'm ready when you are."

Pulling out her digivice, Mimi set her partner down and everyone backed away to give her some room. A second later, her digivice let out a shriek as energy was beamed into Palmon. A shell of data formed around her as she began to speak, signaling her digivolution.

_"Palmon! Warp digivolve tooo…Lillymon!"_

The shell blew apart, revealing a thin, lithe, feminine figure with a flower petal atop her head. Green vines fell down her back like hair and she opened large, dark, pupil-less eyes. Landing on her green boots, leaf-like wings sprung from her back and she pumped her fists into the air.

"Feels great to be Ultimate again," she cheered. "All right. Ready to get going. Just follow me everyone!"

With that, Lillymon took to the air, buzzing away like a hummingbird. Taking out her digivice, Mimi followed her trail.

"This way," she said, running after her, her heeled boots making loud _clip-clop_ noises on the pavement.

Kari watched the others chase after her for a moment before glancing away back in Takeru's direction, her expression was sad. The man was talking to someone from law enforcement. After a moment, the officer nodded his head, acknowledging something, and then turned to join the others, shouting orders to finish getting the area cordoned off. Takeru turned in Kari's direction, their eyes meeting briefly. Raising the hand that held his lighter, he snapped it shut before turning away and losing himself in the crowd.

Kari felt her heart crack a little at that. She was almost grateful when she felt the urgent tugging of Gatomon's claw on the hem of her shirt.

"Kari?" she asked. "Come on. We've got to go."

"Right, Gatomon…" she said with a heavy sigh. "Right."

**###**

"Come _on!"_

_"Push harder!"_

"I am pushing hard!"

_"Harder! Harder!"_

"I'll give you harder…"

_Of all the boneheaded things to do…_ was all Rika could think of as she forced herself to watch Takato attempt to cram his partner into his hiding place, only for him to suddenly take on a shocked expression as the gate bent at an unsettling angle. Groaning with exasperation, he sunk to his knees and leaned his head against his partner.

"I think now I'm stuck…" Growlmon grunted.

"Takato, I don't think this is a good idea," Henry began, rubbing the back of his head. On his shoulder, Terriermon giggled.

"What are you talking about? This is entertainment at its finest! Watching Takatomon here try and figure this mess out is like watching a bunch of monkeys bang out a story on a type writer. One of them is bound to type up a 'Journey to the West' story or something sooner or later."

"That…still doesn't make it a good idea…"

Rika folded her arms over her chest, wondering why she was even here in the first place. While she was one who occasionally enjoyed embarrassing her opponents, Takato had ceased to be one a long time ago and didn't see any value in his humiliating himself.

_Just what was going through his Goggleheaded brain when he thought stuffing him in his home was a good idea?_

Undoubtedly a great many things, like the desire to keep his now oversized partner hidden from the world. Tonight had blown the door open on that wide open, so he was trying, she suspected, to put the genie back in the bottle.

"He's right," Takato admitted, getting back up. "It's just no use. We have to figure out a way to get Guilmon to digivolve back to normal."

"Good luck with that," Terriermon laughed lightly. "It took me ages to de-digivolve you know and I'm much smaller than Growlmon even in my Champion form. I guess that means you have to wait 'till…never."

Takato's suddenly frightened look caused Henry to turn toward his partner with a frown. "Terriermon…"

"Momentai, Henry. You know I was just kidding."

The concrete bunker shook suddenly as Growlmon shifted, trying to pull himself out. His body didn't budge an inch however and he pulled again, starting to panic. _"Seriously!_ I'm _stuck!"_ he exclaimed. "Takatomon…"

"Oh mannn…" Looking a bit frantic himself, he pulled out his digivice. "Hang in there boy! There's…There's got to be something I can do. Maybe if I use my digivice…" he began, hitting it with his fist. "Come on you stupid thing…"

"Could you get some butter or something?" Growlmon asked. Takato frowned at his backend.

"Growlmon… This really is not the time to be thinking about food…"

"Pretty sure that's not what he means," Rika said, grimacing as the boy abruptly spun his digivice around as if _that_ would do something. Terriermon looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Since when do you care?" he asked.

"Since never!" Rika snapped, narrowing her eyes at him. "This whole thing is stupid though. Cramming Dino-boy into a too-small hut isn't going to do anything. Neither will hitting or throwing around that digivice."

"So do you have any other suggestions?"

"I…"

_"Takato, unstick me!"_ Growlmon shouted suddenly, causing Rika to roll her eyes.

"Oh for goodness sake. This is ridiculous."

"Do you have any ideas?" Terriermon asked.

"Terrier…" Henry began, only to be interrupted as the lithe form of Lillymon suddenly came in for a landing on the stairs.

"Hey there," she said, winking at Henry while waving at the trio. She frowned a little at Rika. "And calm down. I'm not here to fight. I'm Mimi's partner, Lillymon. I digivolved from…"

"I _know_ what you digivolve from," Rika said irritably as she narrowed her eyes. "What are you doing here? Don't you guys have some kind of club convention or something to go to?"

"We're just looking for your friend there in case he needed any help," Lillymon replied.

"He's _not…"_ Rika began only to be interrupted as Lillymon marched past him and up to Growlmon.

"…and it looks like you needed it," she said to Takato, gently pushing him aside. "Don't worry cutie," she smiled. "I'll have Growlmon out of there real fast for you, okay?"

"Uh…sure?" Takato replied, blushing at her calling him 'cutie'. Rika scoffed and rolled her eyes while Henry and Terriermon eyed the whole scene with a mixture of confusion and amusement. Reaching in, Lillymon took hold of Growlmon.

"Okay, hon," she told the dinosaur. "Friend here, okay? I'm going to help. What I need from you is to relax and no matter what to _not_ tense up, okay?"

"Uh… Okay?" Growlmon replied. Lillymon smiled.

"Okay. On the count of three then…ready? _Three!"_

The first thing Ken and the others heard upon arriving at Guilmon's home was the great dinosaur howling in pain as Lillymon pulled him out of his home.

"It's all right," the plant digimon quipped, continuing to pull. "Just think of it like you're giving birth. Only…you know. Not."

Growlmon had no idea what 'giving birth' meant, but if this was a close approximation, it felt like it was hard.

**###**

"Thanks Lillymon," Takato bowed. "You were a big help."

"Anytime cutie pie," Lillymon winked as she reached out and pinched his cheek, causing the boy to blush once more, harder than before. Again Rika snorted and this time turned away, disgusted by the treatment the Gogglehead was getting from the plant digimon.

"All right, now that _that_ is over with, how about we start working on a way to get this thing figured out?"

Sora looked at Rika with a raised eyebrow, a small smile curving on her lips. Placing a hand on her shoulder, she nodded.

"Let's get started then," she said. "Is there anything about your digivices that can help you figure out how to return Guilmon back to normal?"

"I've tried," Henry said while Rika scowled. "It's not particularly easy."

"Rika?" Sora asked. The girl grumbled something noncommittal under her breath.

"It _must_ do something though," Takato began, starting to fiddle around with his digivice. "Let's see… If I could just find the right button…"

_"To set clock, please press one,"_ his digivice reported, causing his shoulders to slump in defeat.

"Okay… Maybe it _doesn't_ do anything…"

"Gogglehead…" Rika groaned, rolling her eyes.


	45. Episode 9: Problem Solving

" _Digi-modify! Digivolution…Deactivate!"_ Takato shouted, sliding a card through his digivice. He stood there for a moment in a pose, a determined look on his face as he watched Growlmon for...something. Some kind of sign that what he called would have some kind of effect.

Sadly, not so much as a single spark emerged from the slot, and the screen remained dark. Looking worried, he turned toward his digivice. "Um…pretty…please?"

"What…made you think that saying 'deactivate' would make a difference?" Rika asked, her expression blank disappointment that _this_ was what the digital world chose to add to its ranks of defenders.

Takato gave Rika a terse look before turning back toward his digivice. He fiddled around with the button again, sighing dejectedly. _Back to square one…_

"Ugh...I thought if I slashed the card backwards Growlmon would de-digivolve, but that was a big goose egg. Is de-digivolve even a word?"

"Maybe Takatomon there needs a dictionarymon to take the load off his brain," Terriermon giggled while Rika simply rolled her eyes, quietly cursing Ken for convincing her to be this kid's… _teacher._

_Not that it's anything official yet…_

"Do you have any suggestions, Rika?" Ken asked, causing the girl to stiffen up.

_Should have guessed…_

"I told you already," Rika grumbled, folding her arms together. "Kyubimon went back to being Renamon on her own. It's no big deal."

DemiVeemon, from his perch atop Davis' head, grinned down at the pineapple-haired girl. "You're not going to say 'de-digivolve'?"

Rika's face flushed and she shot a glare at the blue-scaled digimon.

"Back off you two," Davis chuckled. "What about you Henry? I know you chipped in your two yen already, but…"

"Sorry," Henry said, shaking his head. "Terriermon's only digivolved once since he's come to the real world. I only found the one way, and that was just something I got from the game."

"The game?" Mimi asked, tilting her head to one side. She had heard of the card game through Sora, and even collected some of the cards out of curiosity, but this was a story that she hadn't heard of.

Henry nodded. "Digimon World One. I had it on my PC and it went… I don't know…"

"The AI for the digimon in the game evolved sentience while he was playing," Ken stated. "There was an unusual anomaly installed. The company had to do a mass-recall of all the games. It was a good thing that they hadn't gotten onto the market yet, otherwise we would have had a worldwide digital incident…"

"Huh? Seriously?" Davis' eyes went wide and his face snapped over to Henry, who looked away, suddenly looking uncomfortable. "Dude! How'd you manage that?"

"My dad knows some people," was all he offered up, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Look, it's getting late out. I'd better get going before my mom starts to wonder where I am."

Ken nodded reluctantly, but understood. There was very little he could do at the moment if he lacked the experience with digivolution.

"You can go home too, Rika," Ken said, turning to the Digimon Queen. "We'll just have to figure something…"

_"GAH!"_

The ground shook suddenly as Growlmon fell backward onto his rear, yelping in surprise. Turning, everyone found Takato hanging upside down in a tree, hands outstretched and his fingers drawn up into claws.

"What the…?" Rika began, bewildered at what just happened. Groaning, Takato's arms slumped in their sockets.

"Sorry," he apologized. "I thought maybe if I scared Growlmon he'd turn back into Guilmon." He sighed. "Another goose egg…" he muttered, crossing his arms. "Okay, just let me think for a minute… digimon are made of data and when they digivolve they add a whole bunch more data to their old data so they can grow even bigger. Less data means smaller size."

Rika pressed her lips together as she listened to the boy rattle off basic facts, trying to decide if he was a complete idiot or just that terribly untalented. So far his attempts at trying to get Growlmon to return back to his Rookie form had been…terrible to say the least, and none of them had a chance of doing the job.

"Just _where_ is his brain going?" she asked out loud. "Does he even know what he's doing?"

"I thought it was established that he didn't," DemiVeemon replied. "Isn't that why he's trying to figure things out?"

"But none of them are working," Rika admonished. "All of his ideas so far have been ridiculous!"

A hand fell upon her shoulder. Looking up, she saw Sora smiling down at her.

"If it hasn't been done, then we don't know if anything will work. At least give him credit for trying."

Scowling slightly, Rika adjusted her footing.

"Look on the bright side," Davis said. "At least this narrows down the number of things that don't work."

"Oh!" Takato exclaimed suddenly. "Of course! That's it! We'll work off the data!"

Rika sighed and shook her head. "I don't need him to weed out stupid things that don't work," she quipped.

**###**

The ground thudded as Growlmon ran through the park, sending small quakes with each heavy impact. Growlmon did not look happy, and indeed appeared to be running on fumes now, yet he straggled on at Takato's urging.

"Feel those muscles burning! Now work through the burn, love the burn, be the burn! No pain no gain, right?" he called out over Growlmon's labored breathing.

"I just like no pain better!" the dinosaur digimon grunted as he turned and ran another lap through the park. Part way through, he tucked his arms behind his back and proceeded to bunny-hop the rest of the way, turning again and starting a new lap.

"Come on Growlmon! We've got to _sweat_ that extra data out of you!"  
The idea was simple, and based off Henry's work with Gargomon. Once the digimon was fully exhausted, returning to their Rookie form was considered a snap. The hard part was just exhausting the digimon as the higher levels had greater stamina.

To Rika, it still looked utterly ridiculous. Made even more so now as Growlmon flipped over onto his hands and began to walk the course. She tried to imagine Kyubimon resorting to such desperate tactics to go back to being Renamon.

She couldn't.

_Not like she needs to,_ she thought, smirking a little. That was why Renamon was superior to this Goggleheaded idiot. She could hide in any of her forms and never be a fuss for anyone.

"Good," Takato continued to encourage as Growlmon struggled to stay on his hands. "Work that upper body. Push it to the max… Now give it everything you've got! Good! Now run! Run! _Run!"_

Running was out of Growlmon's future though as he finally collapsed to the ground, chest heaving as he gulped down entire feasts of air into his burning lungs. Raising a hand to his chin, Takato rubbed it thoughtfully. "Boy, this looked a lot easier on the documentaries. Okay. Shower off!"

"And just _where_ are you going to find a shower, Gogglehead?" Rika asked before yawning. Blinking, Takato raised an eyebrow at her.

"Uh… You don't have to stick around you know…"

"Don't tell me what to…" Rika began, only for Sora to drop a hand on her head and ruffle her hair.

"It's not a bad idea," the woman interrupted calmly. "And I think Henry had the right of it too… _Both_ of you. Your parents are going to be worried."

Rika groaned, trying to ignore Sora's attempt to make her appear 'less cool' in front of the Gogglehead.

"Yeah right," she grunted under her breath. "Like Mom would be worried…"

Sora raised an eyebrow at that, but didn't say anything. "I guess that's that then," she said, turning to Davis, Ken, Mimi and Kari. "Um… I'm sorry to have to leave you like this…"

"Don't worry about it," Davis grinned. "We've got this under control."

"Please," Rika snorted, earning her head another ruffling from Sora, much to her irritation.

"Mimi?"

"I'm going to visit my parents," the brunette smiled. "Thanks for asking. And actually I should get going too since…you know."

Touching her belly meaningfully, the Digidestined nodded, and with that, Sora, Mimi, Palmon, Biyomon and Rika and Renamon parted ways, leaving the others to their own devices.

"I don't see this as changing any time soon," Ken grimaced, watching as Takato managed to coax Growlmon back to his feet and was saying something to him… Something about a…bath?

"No," Kari said, checking the time. "And Takato really _should_ get home. He's already been out late quite a few times already…"

They watched as Takato guided Growlmon over to one of the park's large, artificial ponds and sat him down in it. The great dinosaur began to moan, looking greatly uncomfortable in the cold water.

"I know Growlmon," the boy said sympathetically, "but digivolving takes a lot of energy. So maybe if we cool you down, it'll get rid of some of that energy and you'll change back."

"Okay," DemiVeemon said from atop Davis' head. "Just _where_ is he coming up with all these ideas?"

"He's a kid," Gatomon said from down below. "A kid who doesn't know that much about digimon and digivolving."

"Well, it's not like we're able to help either," Wormmon pointed out from Ken's shoulder. "We had it easy with the 'de-digivolving' part."

"But still…" said DemiVeemon. "Watching him trying to work it out is a bit like watching a train wreck. Only…you know. Less so."

Growlmon sneezed suddenly, causing Takato to moan in exasperation.

"Oh great, he's catching a cold! I'm gonna go down in history as the worst digimon tamer ever!"

"Good thing that Rika kid isn't here to see this now," Davis grimaced to himself. "Pretty sure she'd just agree."

"I'd better go have a talk with him," Kari sighed, heading on over. "Takato!" she called. "I think you'd better…"

She didn't get a chance to finish. Almost immediately after declaring himself the worst Tamer ever, he changed gears and resumed thinking of a way to help his partner.

"Wait a minute… Tamer! Digimon need a Tamers energy in order to digivolve!"

Suddenly moving his arms up and down, he bent his knees, preparing as if to jump.

"Clear a space Growlmon, because I'm coming in there too!"

Kari's eyes grew wide. "Wait! Takato…!"

It was too late. The boy threw himself into the cold water, and immediately screamed.

"Takato!" Kari shouted, running on over, quickly joined by Ken and Davis. Coming to the edge of the pool, they found that he was unhurt, but was now shivering uncontrollably.

"It's…uh…cold, huh?" Growlmon asked, looking at his partner in concern.

"Y-Yeah…" the boy chattered. "I-It's refreshing…"

He sneezed.

"Takato," Kari sighed, slipping out of her shoes and rolling up her pant legs just enough to keep them from getting wet, dipped her feet into the frigid water. Wincing, she went over to the boy and helped pull him up. "You should get going. You've been out far too late too often now. You've done all you can. You should get some rest so you can figure this out tomorrow."

"But…" Takato looked at his teacher helplessly. "But… Ms. Kamiya…"

_"No_ Takato," she said firmly. "I'm sorry. I know how you feel, but…we'll work something out. It just won't be tonight, okay?"

"We'll find a place for Growlmon to stay," Ken said, holding out a hand for the two. Clasping it, Kari stepped out of the pond, taking Takato up with her.

"But…" Takato turned toward Growlmon, his eyes brimming slightly with tears, not wanting to leave his partner behind after so nearly losing him earlier that evening.

He sneezed again. As far as the Digidestined were concerned, that was the end of the conversation. It was the end of the debate for Growlmon too.

"Takatomon, you should go home so you don't catch a cold. I'll be okay."

"Growlmon…"

Reaching out, Growlmon extended a claw for his partner, and the boy hugged it to him tightly before letting go.

"Fine…" he sighed. "But I want to try one more thing before I leave, and then I'll see you tomorrow boy. Um… But…where…?

"We'll text Kari so she can let you know," Ken said, glancing at the woman. "Hope you don't mind."

Kari shook her head. She didn't mind at all, and it only made sense as Takato's family, as far as she knew, still wasn't aware of Takato's escapades and his status as a Tamer. Getting a call from her would be much easier to excuse than from someone like Ken and Davis.

"All right," Kari said. "What is this last thing you want to try?"

Takato took a deep breath. _Okay… Time to get tough…_

**###**

"A shrine?" Davis asked as they approached it, only to be hushed by Kari.

"Go on ahead, Takato," she nodded, a slight smile on her face. Nodding back, the boy, with Growlmon by his side, approached the shrine. Taking one of the ropes, he rang it gently, the bells making a loud, clanging noise, and then clapped his hands together in prayer.

"I wish that Growlmon will turn back to Guilmon very, very soon," he said in a solemn voice before looking over at his partner meaningfully. "Well come on," he urged. "You've got to wish too, Growlmon."

Raising a claw to his chin, Growlmon contemplated the bells for a second, uncertain if there was any special order to the bells or if each individual bell meant…well, anything. Seeing his partner's confidence though, he took hold of a rope and pulled hard, causing the bell to clash violently and without rhythm. Takato winced.

"All right!" he said over the terrible din. "You're trying to ring the bell, not tear it down!"

'Sorry," Growlmon apologized. Takato smiled up at him.

"Okay, now do what I do." Closing his hands and eyes, he bowed his head slightly.

"I wish that Growlmon will turn back to Guilmon very, very soon."

"I wish that I will turn back to Guilmon very, very soon," Growlmon said, doing likewise. Together they both clapped their hands twice and then turned back toward the Digidestined. Blushing lightly, he shrugged his shoulders.

"It can't hurt to try, right?"  
Smiling, Kari went over to him. "All right," she said, Placing an arm around his shoulder. "Let's get you home then." With that, she began to guide him in the direction out of the park and toward the bakery nodding goodbye to her friends.

Soon enough, Ken and Davis were alone with the giant reptile.

"Unconventional," Ken said after a moment.

"Do you think that will work?"

Ken shrugged. "Sora's father researched digimon extensively and believes they're evolved from spirits who came from that special dream world, so… I don't know. Anything's possible."

"I guess…" Davis began uncertainly. "I don't know. Give me something solid I can see and then we're talking a different story. Anyway, where are we sticking him?" He jabbed a finger at Growlmon indicatively.

Ken sighed. "Well… You're probably not going to like it after recent events…"

**###**

Henry trudged home on legs that felt as though they were made of lead. Terriermon sat atop his head, looking down at his partner.

"You're being kinda quiet," he said, passing someone who shot him an odd glare. The rabbit-dog digimon took note, but for the moment kept his attention on his partner.

"I'm just thinking," he said passively. Terriermon snorted.

"So what else is new?" he asked. "If you were thinking any harder, your head would burst into flames and then I'd literally be the one in the hot seat. You want to fill me in here?"

"Momentai, Terriermon," he said, offering his partner a wan smile. The long-eared digimon did not look the least bit amused.

"Try pulling that off when you can actually look convincing. Seriously Henry. You've got something eating at you. This is about Growlmon wrecking a city block, isn't it?"

"No!" Henry began, only to stop. "I mean… Well… Kind of." Raising a hand, he attempted to run it through his hair before remembering that Terriermon was there, blocking its path. "I just… There had to be another way to deal with what happened back there."

"Henry. I don't know about you, but from what I saw, that digimon wasn't interested in talking or anything. It kinda looked like it _wanted_ to kill Guilmon."

Henry didn't reply, his brow furrowing in deep thought. He could only see the damage caused by the battle between the two combatants…how _savage_ Growlmon looked. How eager for battle. It could only remind him of Rika and how eager she looked to murder Guilmon.

Worse yet. It reminded him of himself. When he…

"Hey!"

Blinking, Henry paused in his stride and turned toward a tall man, glaring venomously at Henry.

"Uh… Can I help you?" he asked, his muscles tensing ever so slightly. There was something about the way the man was standing that almost seemed to scream impending violence.

"You were there, during that digimon fight," he grated, taking a menacing step forward. "I saw you. You just _stood_ there, doing _nothing_ while those monsters wrecked the city!"

Lashing out, his hand snatched hold of Henry's shirt and shoved him backward against the side of a building, causing him to grunt slightly in pain. His balance upset, Terriermon toppled off and hit the ground.

"Digimon loving _scum!"_ the man snarled soon adding a second hand. "Where's your digivice! I'll show you…"

"Hey! Leave him alone!"

Green tendrils wrapped around the man's arms and pulled tight, wrenching him away from the boy. Looking up, Henry found himself staring at an irate Palmon and Mimi, both of whom were glaring angrily at the man.

"Let me go! _Let me go!"_ snarled the man, struggling against Palmon's grasp. Unfortunately for him, the experienced Rookie snatched up his legs before he could even try to use them, further complicating his situation. Whipping out her cell phone, Mimi immediately began to dial the police.

"I don't have any sympathy for people who attack kids," she growled, narrowing her eyes angrily at the man. Turning her brown eyes toward Henry, her gaze softened. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah… Thanks," Henry said, getting back to his feet. Looking at him worriedly, Terriermon climbed back onto his shoulders and hugged his head comfortingly. Looking up, he saw Sora and Rika approaching from behind, the latter of whom eyed the boy's struggling assailant with a dark look.

"Who's the thug?" she asked.

"A lowlife, that's who!" Mimi snarled, stabbing a finger at the man. "Where do you get off pulling stunts like that! Threatening _kids?!"_

"Mimi…" began Sora, only to be interrupted by the man.

"You digidestined bastards don't care about what happens to us!" the man shouted angrily. "You brought your war here! Everywhere you go, there's always lives getting ruined! I…"

Palmon promptly shut him up by gagging his mouth with one of her vines.

"I think that's enough out of you for now," she said. "Let's wait and see what the police have to say about you once they get here."

Glaring at the man, Sora approached Henry and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Sorry about that," she said. "Are you sure you're all right? You looked like he got you pretty good there."

Henry shook his head, not saying anything, instead burying his mind deeper into his thoughts and worries.

If being a Digidestined or even a Tamer wrought only this as a response – hurt the innocent and turned the good against each other…was it worth it? In his mind's eye, he saw a boy, lying on the ground and clutching his arm with grated teeth… An arm that was bent at an unnatural angle.

_What good is being a Tamer if all you do is hurt others?_ he wondered, one hand tightening into a shaking fist. A shaking fist that Rika's violet eyes observed with a frown.


	46. Episode 9: The Continuing Nightmare

A cloud of ice particles shone in the light of the moon as IceDevimon glowered down at the human-infested streets below, red-eyes gleaming. He ground his fangs angrily. Down below stood the Digimon Queen, arms folded across her chest as she stood amidst the Digidestined and the Terriermon Tamer. Her expression was neutral, but he knew what thoughts lay within those violet eyes. He saw it all too clearly when she ordered Renamon to engage Devidramon.

_Failure,_ he grated. _She's another failure… Just like the Digidestined of Kindness…_

He narrowed his gaze. _No…_ he amended. The darkness remained in her heart, though diminished. Her contact with the Hazard Tamer changed her, but it was more than that.

Renamon.

_Rika has grown soft because of_ you, he thought angrily, clenching his claws together tightly. _You didn't play on the shadows that lay in her heart. You merely…merely…_

He didn't dare complete that thought. Just the very direction it was going in made his stomach churn.

Still, with this, he would be able to move against Renamon and Rika. Two tests and the only result was for the light to shine through their darkness.

Before he was through, he would crush that light and make the Queen his.

**###**

Rika glowered in the direction of the police car as the man who had assaulted Henry glared back. Not at her specifically, but in her general direction where she and the Digidestined Sora and Mimi stood. Henry and his partner had made themselves scarce once they relayed their version of events, staying only just a bit longer to provide contact information, something Rika felt was fairly typical of him, given past events.

_The Gogglehead at least doesn't run,_ she thought, tightening her grip around herself. Her glower deepened, thinking on that particular boy and how this whole mess had been a result of his partner digivolving and barely keeping himself in check. Yet for some reason it was _Henry_ and _his_ partner who bore the brunt of his responsibility.

That didn't seem the least bit fair.

"All right," Mimi said as she and Palmon approached the girl, Sora and Biyomon trailing behind them. "Looks like everything's been worked out, so let's go, go, go!"

"Do you have to say it like that?" Rika asked, rolling her eyes at the woman. Mimi smirked and wagged a finger at her.

"I'm going to be a mother. It's my job to embarrass my kid, so I might as well get some practice in while I have the time."

Rika raised an eyebrow at Mimi, wondering what she meant for a second before finally understanding.

"Oh," she said, looking a little uncertain. "Congratulations…I guess?" Frowning, she shrugged before turning away. Mimi watched her retreating back, unsure what to make of that response. Chuckling lightly, Sora patted her friend on the shoulder.

"Don't worry about her. She's just not used to expressing herself anymore."

"Hmmm…" Mimi tilted her head to one side before dropping her voice a little. "Isn't that a reason to _be_ concerned though? I remember when you had trouble expressing yourself, and it didn't turn out very well."

"Mimi…!" Sora laughed, causing Rika to turn toward them and raise an eyebrow. Sora waved at her, gesturing that there was nothing for her to be concerned about. "Come on. Let's get you home," she said, picking up the pace as she approached Rika. Looping an arm around her shoulder, she pulled her close, just enough to cause the girl to squirm a little and blush lightly. Smiling down at her, she rubbed her shoulder soothingly.

"So…how're you holding up from all this? The digimon fight and what happened to Henry…"

"This isn't my first digimon fight you know," Rika scowled. "I'm used to it. But…what happened with that other Tamer… I don't get that. He didn't do anything. It was that Gogglehead's Hazard partner that went crazy…"

"Did we watch the same fight?" Mimi asked, cocking an eyebrow. "Because last I checked, it looked like he was defending himself against a Devidramon."

"It's not like he had a choice about getting dropped on that bridge either," Palmon pointed out. Rika _harrumphed_ and untangled herself from Sora's grasp, distancing herself slightly.

"Whatever," she grunted. "It's still stupid."

"People are afraid, Rika," Sora said. "A lot of them still remember the war. That man in the police car is old enough to have grown up in it and to have lost a family member."

"So what?" Rika's anger flashed. "Henry's not responsible for it!"

"Neither is Takato."

"Yeah, but his digimon still cut loose out there and made a mess of the place…"

"…defending himself, Rika," Sora interrupted, frowning slightly. "I won't say that means digimon have license to wreck the city or anything to protect themselves, but what happened out there was _not_ anyone's fault but the Devidramon's. Takato and Henry were just in the wrong places at the wrong times. They didn't go out there looking for trouble. Neither of them deserves to be punished or anything like that."

"Guilmon's a Hazard digimon," Rika said, her scowl only deepening. She thought back to all her encounters with the Rookie, and how he always seemed to lose himself during a fight. This evening had been no different. The deep, animalistic growl he made as he cornered his partner… Even the Gogglehead knew it, hug or no hug. He had been ready to let his own partner eat him!

Her hands clenched around her arms, her expression changing – becoming worried – at the thought of him being turned into a bloody snack, eyes that had once been bright and full of life and warmth becoming cold and empty. Gargomon had been similar, she realized, remembering when she found herself on the wrong end of his arm cannon.

"Just what is _wrong_ with their partners?" she asked, more to herself than to anyone else. Nonetheless, it raised some eyebrows.

"What do you mean what's wrong with them?" Biyomon asked, fluttering over the group. Rika shifted and glanced at Biyomon briefly before looking away.

"Nothing," she said tersely. "I didn't mean anything."

"That sure didn't sound like nothing," Mimi frowned to herself. Eyes flashing, Rika turned her baleful glare on her.

"You got a problem with that?"

"Rika!" Sora interjected forcefully before turning to her friend apologetically. "Look, it's been a bad night," she said to everyone. "Let's just…table any further conversation until tomorrow, when everyone's had a chance to sleep on it, okay?"

"Fine by me," Rika grumbled irritably, though she doubted she would be in any of a better mood by then.

**###**

"You don't have to walk me home, Ms. Kamiya," Takato said as the two of them reached the edge of the park.

"Maybe not," Kari chuckled, "but you seem to have a tendency to get sidetracked."

"Not to mention you find trouble a lot," Gatomon piped in.

"Yes," Kari nodded reluctantly. "That too."

"Oh come on," Takato laughed nervously. "Tonight was just a fluke. I'm sure we're all done with craziness tonight."

Gatomon eyed Takato with amusement. "I seem to recall a certain gun-toting dog-bunnymon blowing up a parking garage shortly after you arrived there."

Takato blanched at that. "You…really can't pin that one on me."

"We're just worried, that's all Takato," Kari smiled at him. "But if you're sure that you're okay with making the rest of the trip by yourself…"

"I am." Takato bobbed his head up and down. "I don't want my parents asking any funny questions about you."

"You know, sooner or later you're going to have to tell them about Guilmon," Gatomon said as they drew to a halt.

"I know," Takato sighed. "It's just… I'm not sure how they'll react. Mom's always worrying about me. I mean, you saw what happened when I stayed out just a little bit late to find Guilmon. She freaked! If I were to tell her that I'm a Tamer and my partner just digivolved and wrecked a bridge during a fight…"

Gatomon and Kari exchanged glances, understanding where he was coming from. Unlike Takato, the reveal of their partnership had been forced by circumstances, namely the invasion of Myotismon's army in Odaiba. She wondered if she should suggest Takato any government services that assist Tamers and Digidestined when it came to coming out to their parents, but quickly decided against it. Given how many digimon partners ended up being sent back to the digital world, such organizations tended to be underfunded and understaffed.

_It's amazing that Takato hasn't been made to turn Guilmon in, especially after this,_ she thought. _Does Takeru know something's coming?_

A worrying thought. Ruffling Takato's hair, she smiled at him.

"All right, but if you need help talking to your family, be sure to let me know, okay? I'm here for you, remember that."

"I will, Takato nodded before they parted ways.

_Man, I am late again…_ he thought, quickly breaking into a run. _Mom's going to ground me for sure after this…_

"Takato?"

"Huh?"

The voice broke across his thoughts as he exited the park, causing him to draw to a halt. Looking up, he saw a familiar girl with brown hair – a piece of it tied off in a cute little ponytail – and an olive-green dress. She carried a small pink bag in front of her with a cat icon in the bottom right corner. She beamed at him and unconsciously Takato's lips tugged upward in response.

"Jeri…" he greeted, feeling his heart skip a beat before picking up a nervous rhythm. "Uh…hi Jeri…"

"Where have you been?" she asked, closing the distance between them – not too close, but just enough so they could talk more easily – causing the boy's heart to jump again from nerves.

"Oh…nowhere," he replied, his voice jittering. "You know…just…around." He wondered what he should say…or if he should say anything at all. Feeling that he had been put on the spot, his words seemed to trip over themselves to present a credible story so that he didn't accidently reveal that he was a Tamer.

_Oh man… Did she hear about the big fight between Growlmon and Devidramon? What would she think about that? Probably be scared. Yeah. If I was in her shoes, I probably would be too. I mean, I_ was _scared just being there!_

Getting the feeling that just standing there wasn't accomplishing anything, and not trusting his mouth to say anything coherent, he began to turn away and resume his trek home.

"So…ah… See ya!"

Tilting her head to one side, her brow furrowed together. There was something about the way he was acting that tugged at her, and after hearing about the big digimon fight on the news, she wondered if this was related. He _was_ out rather late after all.

Not that she wasn't, of course, but she was running an errand for her father's tavern.

"Do you need any help?" she asked suddenly , almost impulsively. She blinked at herself, somewhat surprised, but upon seeing Takato stop and turn back toward her she quickly dismissed the funny feeling teasing at the back of her mind. She was genuinely worried about him anyway. He always seemed to be a little bit off balance, and the increased presence of Ms. Kamiya around him sometimes made her wonder if he was all right.

"No that's okay," he replied to her, but she saw that there was definitely something troubling him in his eyes, the way he held himself… Jeri found herself smiling unconsciously. That was one of the things she liked about him. He wore his heart on his sleeve, even when he tried to protect others from the things that weighed on it.

"Well…um… I don't know really…" he continued, struggling now. Whatever it was, it clearly had to be something big if he was starting to change his response. Feeling protective, she took a step toward him, something that went unnoticed between the two.

Takato's crimson eyes met Jeri's amber ones as his resolve clashed with a sudden need to just…talk. He knew of course that he could – and _should_ – have discussed this with Ms. Kamiya, but at the same time she was his teacher and a Digidestined. Talking to her about his worries felt as though he were being a burden to her when he wanted to be counted on during a crisis. He didn't want that hanging over her head.

At the same time however, he _needed_ to talk to _someone,_ and right now there was no one else. Not his parents, not the Digidestined, not Henry, not Guilmon, and _definitely_ not that red-haired girl, Rika.

_I can't believe I'm going to say this…_ he thought, clenching his eyes shut and blushing in embarrassment.

"Would you help me, Jeri?" he asked, forcing the words out and clenching his fists together tightly. Jeri gasped at the intensity in his voice, and felt a small blush start to rise on her face in response. They stood there like that for a moment in silence before Jeri saw Takato open his eyes and look at her worriedly.

"Uh… Did I…say something wrong?" he asked tentatively. "I mean…if you're busy…that is…"

"Oh! No!" Jeri said, shaking her head. "Sorry. Um…" She quickly looked around and pointed over toward a nearby playground where they could sit and chat. "Over there."

Takato followed her over to the playground and they both quickly crossed over to it and sat down together, the two of them tense, though each for different reasons. Suddenly, Jeri realized that this was perhaps the first time that they had actually been alone together somewhere that didn't involve school. The realization made her feel a little bit self conscious, but she pushed such feelings aside, wanting to listen to the boy as he revealed what weighed on his heart.

"Now…" she began a little nervously. "Why don't you tell me about your troubles?"

"I've got this problem with my partner," Takato began, only to curse at himself for his slipup. "I mean my _friend._ My _good friend._ You see, he's gone through a change, and I mean a _big_ change lately. I'm talking about a _big_ change literally. My friend has grown a lot, and I mean a _lot_ -a lot, and it's caused a whole bunch of problems, so I want things to go _back_ to the way they were before." He looked up at Jeri. "What should I do?"

"Takato…" Jeri whispered as she took in his story. Although it was lacking in details, it was clear that whatever was going on bothered him a great deal – so much so that he _couldn't_ discuss it at any great length. The only thing that was clear though was that someone he knew had grown recently and it left him feeling out of sorts.

_But why would that make him feel so upset like this? Unless…_

She grinned suddenly as a thought occurred to her.

_I bet Takato has a crush on a girl and she got taller,_ she thought, envisioning the boy much younger walking hand in hand with an unknown shadow-faced girl, a wide smile on his face and not a care in the world…until the girl _morphed_ , becoming taller and more adult-like while Takato… _grew…_ in the academic sense of the word, but didn't appear different in any fashion like the girl did. He remained… _goofy_ looking, and taken completely aback by the sudden change. _So he feels goofy next to her so she wishes she were short again._

The image in her mind changed as the girl shrunk, but remained the same, causing Takato's eyes to light up comically with little hearts pulsing in them.

_That's so cuuute…_ Jeri gushed, smiling softly at the boy, understanding where he was coming from.

_I know just how he means. That growth spurt I just went through made me feel so gawky, like everyone was staring…!_

She blinked as suddenly the pieces all fell into place.

"Wait! I get it!" she exclaimed, causing Takato to look up at her in surprise.

"Huh? You do?"

Jeri's hand came up between them…or rather the orange sock puppet that she always carried with her. Jeri _ruffed_ at him, moving the puppet's mouth so it would speak for her.

_"Jeri likes you, Takato, but only as a friend, okay?"_ the puppet said as she stood up. Sweeping her arm around, she gestured toward the city. _"Don't worry! There's a_ million _other girls out there!"_

Takato stared at Jeri, flummoxed by the sudden direction the conversation went in.

_She took_ that _from my talking about Growlmon growing huge?_

Takato's shoulders slumped. On the plus side, at least he didn't have to worry about whether or not Jeri liked him, not that having that certainty helped his situation.

"Okay…Jeri… Thanks," he said, his shoulders slumping. Seeing this, Jeri's expression softened a little and the sock puppet fell. She took it in one hand and she clasped it close to her dress.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly. "You're very nice…and cute. But…"

"No, no… It's okay. It's just…" Takato shook his head. "It's not what I was talking about but…" He shook his head. "Never mind."

Jeri tilted his head to one side, confused now. "Wait… You weren't trying to confess to me?"

"No," Takato said, wondering just how it was that this kept coming up. First that Rika girl thought he was trying to confess to her, and now Jeri? Just what was the world coming to? If there was anyone out there for him, he highly doubted it was those two. Rika's animosity toward him aside, she and Jeri were _far_ too pretty to bother themselves with someone like him.

"So what were you talking about?" Jeri asked, curious.

"It's nothing," Takato said, stepping away. "Listen, I've got to get home. Thanks for listening. It…means a lot." He offered her a comforting smile, causing her to blush lightly again.

"Are you sure?" she pressed. "I know I thought you were talking about something else, but…"

Takato only continued to smile. "I'm sure. I'll see you later."

With that, the goggle-wearing boy ran off, feeling decidedly flummoxed by the whole situation.

**###**

"You're all crazy Ken," Davis grumbled as he and Ken pushed open the door and stepped inside the flood tunnel once more. "Completely crazy."

"I'm only saying that Rumiko looks like she might be interested in you," Ken said, shrugging his shoulders. They had encountered the middle-Nonaka on their way to the flood tunnel and spent considerable time chatting with them, particularly Davis, all the while ignoring the fact that they had a giant dinosaur watching the whole thing. Davis' expression became dour in response.

"She's crazy too. Why are women crazy?"

"I heard once that it's because their husbands make them that way," DemiVeemon said from atop Davis' head. The man glowered up at him.

"We're not married though."

"Ken doesn't make Yolei crazy," Wormmon pointed out. "Well, except for those times when he forgets that it's his turn to do the dishes…"

"You know," began DemiVeemon, "from what I remember, I get the feeling that you don't _have_ to be married to make them nuts…"

Ken shook his head and pulled open the access door, beckoning Growlmon inside.

"In here again?" the dinosaur digimon whimpered. Ken nodded.

"Sorry, but we don't have any services right now that can house a digimon of your size."

_Plus we don't want Takeru getting any funny ideas,_ he thought to himself, stepping aside as Growlmon entered and sniffed the air tentatively.

"We can't find somewhere else?" he asked. Ken shook his head.

"It's the only place we can find right now," Ken said, patting him on the head. "Don't worry Growlmon. The digital anomaly is gone, so you're not going to be whisked away to another world or anything."

"Well, as long as another one doesn't suddenly decide to show up," DemiVeemon quipped, earning him a quick rap on the side of his head by Davis.

"I think someone's been hanging around Terriermon too much…"

"Trust me," Ken said, ignoring the blue puffball of a digimon. "This time it'll be safe."

"Okay…" Growlmon said reluctantly, curling up on the floor.

"We'll see you in the morning," Ken said, smiling. "We'll stop off at the bakery first so we can get you some bread. How's that sound?"

"Better buy it in bulk," DemiVeemon muttered while Wormmon worried about their finances. Davis chuckled.

"Don't worry Wormmon, I'll pick up the check."

"All right," Ken said as they stepped outside. "Let's go. Good night Growlmon."

"Bye…"

The service door slid shut on the pitiful sight of Growlmon waving a dispirited claw at them. Clearly he was not happy that he was still Growlmon, but for the time being there wasn't much that could be done. They could only wait and see what happened.

In the silence of the night, DemiVeemon glanced down at Davis.

"So…" he began. "What did you do to drive Rumiko crazy?"

Davis groaned and pressed his hands against his face.

**###**

Growlmon lay there in the tunnel, looking down the dimly lit passageway, the only source of light in this scary place before finally closing his eyes. It took time, but finally he drifted off to sleep, courtesy of the exercises that Takato ran him through in their attempt to tire him out and return him to being Guilmon. He wanted to go back to his Rookie form again.

_What am I going to do?_ he wondered sleepily. In his mind, the boring empty space that was his dreamscape had changed, becoming the park again. Were he awake he would have been happy to see something other than the nothing-space. _Finally_ a dream that would be worth sharing!

Only…there was a problem.

He was running.

He whimpered and turned over, but the movement did nothing for his nightmare. He continued to run, though he felt as though he were slogging through invisible mud.

_Nooo…_ Growlmon groaned, burying his face in his arms. _If I run any more my legs will fall off… Oop… Oh… There they go…_

Sure enough, his legs had detached themselves, but they kept running without him, leaving him a quivering mess on the ground. Would he be able to rest though? Could he rest?

A wooden sword slammed down in front of him, and Growlmon looked up, first spotting what appeared to be a pair of feet in those odd, funny shoes Takato had called high heels behind the weapon. Tracing up the legs of their owner, his golden gaze fell upon one Rika Nonaka as she glared down at him. She looked…slightly different. Older. Fiercer. Wearing some kind of martial arts uniform. She appeared commanding, like a queen or a general on the battlefield.

_"You have no time to rest!"_ she snapped at him. _"You think that just because your legs have run off that you get to relax?_ No _Tamer's digimon slacks off on my watch! Run on your hands, Dinoboy! And no backtalk!"_

"Oh nooo…" Growlmon whimpered aloud, wishing that something would break his horrible dream.

He got his wish.

The door opened with a creak, and in floated Calumon, a wide smile on his face.

"Yay me!" he squealed. "Finally, I get to see what's so secret about this place and…oh!"

Tilting his head to one side upon spotting Growlmon, he flew on over and dropped down next to him.

"Hey," Calumon whispered. "You asleep?"

No response.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey…" Calumon persisted, poking at his face now. "Let's play!"

Still no response. Puffing out his cheeks in annoyance, Calumon flew up to his ears and took a deep breath.

Rude awakening aside, Growlmon was more than happy to escape the clutches of dream-drill sergeant Rika.


	47. Episode 9: The Terror of the Tunnel

"Hey Mom," Henry said, shutting the door to his apartment home behind him.

"Hello there, Henry," Mayumi greeted from the couch. "You're home awfully late. Is everything all right?"

"It's nothing," he replied as Terriermon hopped off his shoulder and toddled on over into the kitchen. "I'm going to go take a bath."

Mayumi raised an eyebrow as her son ducked around the corner without so much as a backward glance. Watching his retreating back worriedly, she turned toward Terriermon.

"Is he okay?" she asked the diminutive dog-bunny a she hopped up onto the kitchen counter. Scowling, she rose from her seat. "Terriermon…"

"I just wanted to see what we missed for dinner…" he protested, hopping back down. "Sheesh! Momentai!"

"That's not funny," Mayumi sighed, heading on over and brushing off the table. "Oh, now look at what you've done. You've got digital fur all over the place."

"It's been a stressful night. Sorry that I'm shedding."

Once again, Mayumi felt that there was something more going on than what her son was telling her. She knew her children all too well. Henry tended to become quiet when he experienced trouble.

"Terriermon," she began, kneeling down and bringing a hand to rest on his head. "If you tell me what happened, I'll make you some dinner."

"Uh…" Terriermon blanched. "Well…" he began hesitantly. He didn't want to tell her everything, as he wanted to respect his Tamer's need for privacy. "…we just…ran into some jerk on the sidewalk. You know, one of those anti-digimon types."

"Oh…" Mayumi turned back in the direction of her son as the bathroom door closed with a loud click. "Nothing bad happened, did it?"

"Nah," Terriermon half-lied. "You know how Henry is. He can take care of himself."

Mayumi nodded, but still eyed the door that hid her son away with sympathy. Henry was a sensitive boy and quite often took things personally that were outside his ability to control.

_I'll have to have a talk with him later,_ she thought, getting to her feet. In the meantime…

"All right," she said to Terriermon. "Manju sound good?"

"Doesn't it _always?!"_ Terriermon cried gleefully.

As Mayumi set about to fulfilling her end of the bargain, Terriermon turned away, feeling a little bit guilty for not being fully honest with her, especially since she was feeding him and providing him with a place to stay.

_Unlike Guilmon who has to hang out in a boring and cold concrete hut for all hours of the day,_ he thought, making his way over to the couch and hopping up. _Huh… I wonder what's on?_

A commercial was on. Something about the newest and hottest AI companion that could be had. A _V-Pet._

_Helps you with your email… Balances your checkbook…_ Terriermon scoffed. _Yeah, whatever. It still won't be as awesome as I am._

**###**

Henry dipped himself into the steaming hot water and slid down into the tub slowly. His skin prickled in pleasure as the heat seeped into him and he closed his eyes. He slowed his breathing, searching the calm of the void so he could make his worries disappear, if only for a moment. Try as he might however, he failed. The day's events played out inside his head like a video tape. The battle with Devidramon… The man who attacked him…

More memories began to march through his mind. Rika's attack on Takato. Takato talking about how eager he used to be to have a digimon for a partner… On and on. His whole world was upended in such a short amount of time.

The worst part? He expected it to happen. Digimon entering the real world caused nothing but problems, and humans partnered with them were invariably drawn into those events.

_I can't do it though,_ he thought, pressing his hands tightly to his face at the last splash. _I promised… I promised Terriermon I wouldn't ever let him fight again._

He dropped his hands into the tub and gazed at them, feeling helpless over events that seemed to be rushing toward him. He curled his fingers into his palms.

_I'm not needed after all. The Digidestined are still around. They still have their partners. Why on Earth would the digital world need me? Or Takato?_

He grated his teeth together.

_Or Rika? I can't believe that the digital world would possibly think it was a good idea to select her to help it. She just seems so…eager to just fight for no reason. She's just like I was. Digimon are just another game to her. So just…why?_

Of course, he received no answer, but he didn't expect to. The digital world, according to all the documentaries, was notorious for rarely explaining its reasons save through prophecy or Gennai, neither of which were available at the present. Still, it haunted him to know that he had been like Rika, yet still given a digivice and a partner. And not just any digivice, a model _never_ seen before.

_There's got to be a way that I can keep Terriermon from fighting. There's just_ got _to!_

Uncertainty filled him though. Splashing his face to distract himself from his discouraging feelings, he thought instead how he might best go about keeping himself and Terriermon out of the fighting.

**###**

Takato lay in the darkness of his room, staring at the empty wall his bed butted up against. Sleep, in spite of his best efforts, eluded him. He turned over, so he was facing the curtain-covered window and fluffed his pillow in an effort to make himself more comfortable.

It didn't work. His mind was simply too active to allow him to fall asleep.

"What am I going to do?" he asked the night that lay outside, giving voice to his worries. "Poor Growlmon…"

A shadow fell across his bedroom window just then Takato heard a muffled voice from the other side.

"I don't know how to knock," it said, and Takato sat up at its familiarity.

_What's going on?_

"Like this," came another voice, and there followed a _tap-tap-tap_ on the window. Warily, Takato climbed out of his bed and down the ladder. Heading over to his window, he took hold of the curtain and peeled it back…

…and found a great, golden eye staring back at him.

_"Growlmon!"_ Takato shouted, stumbling backward in surprise. Quickly lowering his voice, lest his parents hear him and come investigating, he stepped toward the window. "What are you doing here?"

"Calumon said that 2 o'clock in the morning is the very best time to play," Growlmon replied, as if that explained everything.

_Bu-wha…?_ Takato blinked. "Calumon?!"

"Hey! Hi!"

As if on cue, the tiny white creampuff of a digimon appeared in front of Growlmon and began to dance on the railing. Feeling a bit annoyed, Takato looked back at his partner in shock at what he had done.

"What about all that trouble Ken and Davis went through to hide you yesterday?"

"Aw nuts." Calumon's ears wilted at Takato's raised voice and immediately jumped off the terrace to fly away. "He's mad again."

"Bye…" Growlmon said, watching him go mournfully. Takato sighed and slid open the window to the terrace.

"Calumon just gets weirder and weirder every day. Now what are we going to do with you? How did you even get up there without destroying it?" He tilted his head to one side at the giant dinosaur. "How are you _not_ destroying it now for that matter?"

"I don't know," Growlmon replied. "But it was quite an adventure."

He winced suddenly and the terrace bar groaned against his rear. "It's…not very comfortable though. Takatomon can you help me get down?"

Takato groaned in exasperation. "I'd better get a hold of Mr. Ichijouji before we break something…"

**###**

"Sorry again to get you up so late, Mr. Ichijouji," Takato apologized as Ken walked him and Growlmon through the park, Stingmon keeping pace by his side.

"Don't worry about it," Ken yawned.

"Yeah," Stingmon nodded. "It was only 2:00 in the morning. We're used to being up at worse hours."

Takato looked at the pair worriedly, uncertain as to whether he should take that as something to set him at ease or sarcasm.

_If Terriermon were here, I'd know for sure,_ he thought as they drew to a halt in front of the flood tunnel. "This is the place?" he asked, a bit concerned. "Isn't this the same place where he got taken to that weird other world? He'll go to that other world and disappear just like before!"

"Don't worry about it," Ken said, entering the tunnel. "One of my friends destroyed it…whatever it was. Either way, it won't be coming back for Growlmon. Davis and I brought him here earlier and he was fine right up until Calumon showed up. Whatever that thing was, it was probably just a fluke."

"Well, okay…" Takato said uncertainly, following after him, deciding to trust the older Digidestined. _He seems pretty confident, and he has more experience than me, so…_ "Come on, Growlmon."

"Okay…" Growlmon bemoaned, ducking his head down as he entered with them. "So big and scary…"

"It is," Stingmon agreed. "But you've faced a Devidramon and defeated it. I'm pretty sure you can handle this place."

"You think so?"

"I know so. What do you think, Takato?"

"Hm?" The boy turned toward the two digimon. "Well…of course he can handle this place. Why wouldn't he?"

_Even though it_ is _kind of scary…_

They went deeper into the tunnel for a bit longer before Ken finally decided they had come far enough.

"I'm sorry Growlmon, but this seems like the only safe place for you. So stay here until I come get you in the morning okay?"

"Kay…" Growlmon replied sadly, plopping himself down. Takato's heart all but melted at his partner's forlorn face. He understood all too well how he was feeling. Being so large was just…such an inconvenience.

_Gatomon sure has it easy as a Champion,_ he thought. _She can go anywhere and still not worry about crushing things by accident._

"Seriously," he continued, just to be on the safe side, recognizing his partner's sometimes impulsive, childish nature. "Don't leave, even if Calumon finds the best playground ever."

"See you later," Ken said, waving a hand at him. With nothing more to be said, the trio departed, leaving Growlmon behind to groan over his misery.  
 **###**

Time passed, and the sun began to rise ever so slightly in the east, finding one Impmon as he strutted down the tunnels. He had seen Calumon fly out of here once, and then later Growlmon and his _digi-master_. At first he thought nothing of it, not caring for what _Pineapple Head_ did in his spare time, but, as the night wore on he found himself increasingly frustrated, not finding anything else to occupy his attention with.

_The humans are still being nothing but predictable. I can't find anything fun out there,_ he thought. _Not that this place is any better, but it…does seem kinda…creepy._

In his mind's eye, he was an adventuring digimon, exploring a lost cave that contained one of the legendary Dramon of old that guarded some secret treasure hoard. True enough, there was a reptile digimon who breathed fire sleeping in here, though the treasure Impmon was searching for was of a variety that didn't ivolve gold

"Oh… Hello," Impmon chuckled, tip-toeing ever closer to the sleeping Growlmon. "What do we have here? Careful… Careful… Careful…"

Coming to a halt, he looked Growlmon over, finding himself somewhat awed by his size…and a little jealous.

_He digivolved his way out of that fight. He's just a Pineapple Head? Why's he get all the lucky breaks?_

Of course, he received no answer and he glowered at Growlmon.

"Hey! Are you gonna sleep all night or what?"

There was no response save the sound of snoring coming from Growlmon's nostrils. Reaching out, he poked Growlmon's nose and flinched back as he snorted. Upon seeing however that he wasn't waking up, he resumed poking, this time harder.

Growlmon snorted and pushed him back with a giant paw, causing Impmon to yelp as he toppled over in surprise.

"So you wanna play rough?" Impmon demanded, wiping an arm over his mouth. Surging to his feet, he shook a gloved fist at the still sleeping reptile. "Seriously, get up! I didn't come all this way just to watch you sleep! I'm a busy guy! I gotta go and make…uh…" He faltered for half a second about what other things he was actually _doing_ that was so important before simply deciding to charge on. "Well, what I gotta do is none of your business!"

As Impmon ranted and raved, Growlmon cracked an eye open and looked at the diminutive digimon.

"Impmon?" he slurred between snores, causing Impmon to back away, suddenly looking uncertain.

"Yeaaah…?" he asked carefully.

"I'm not supposed to play with you," Growlmon replied.

"Oh…" Impmon was taken aback by that. Not supposed to play with him? That was crazy. He was the talk of the town! "…why?"

"Because Takato said you're a bad influence."

With that, Growlmon closed his eyes and returned to his snoozing. Impmon looked at him with a perturbed look on his face.

"Ohhh… I get it. They were _right!_ I guess size _doesn't_ matter. You're bigger, but you're just as boring as ever, aren't ya? Well…" He snapped his fingers, and at once a red ball of fire lit up above them. _"Ba-da Boom!"_

Throwing his arm forward, he launched the fireball at Growlmon's face. Startled, the Champion lurched up, crying in surprise and pain at the unexpected attack.

"Ah! Hot!"

"You could use some exercise big boy!" Impmon laughed before jumping after Growlmon and firing another round of his _Ba-da Boom_ attack, singing his scales. Staggering to his feet, Growlmon tried to evade the attacks, but the space in the tunnels was far too narrow for him to maneuver properly. With only one option left, he dashed ahead toward the tunnel entrance. Impmon chased after him, firing fireball after fireball at him, laughing maniacally all the way.

"Whoo hoo! Mush, doggy, mush! _Ba-da Boom!_ You know, you're right! I'm a _baaad_ influence! But I'm just so _good_ at it! Who's hungry? I'm grillin' up some dinosaur steaks! _Ba-da Boom!"_

_"Owww!"_ Growlmon cried out in pain as he was chased out of the tunnel and into the edge of the park. Although the attack wasn't enough to seriously hurt him, it definitely _hurt!_

"I guess you want yours to go, huh?" Impmon laughed as he chased Growlmon through the streets. Jumping up and landing on Growlmon's back he grinned devilishly. "Just relax… All you need is a little _tenderizing!"_

Raising his fists, he began to pound on Growlmon's spine and shoulders, making loud, meaty _smacks_ with every strike.

"And maybe a _pinch_ of salt!"

That did it. Growling, the fearsome dinosaur jerked, throwing Impmon off his back. A burning light formed in the back of his throat as he reared back and let loose a torrent of fire at the tiny Rookie as he struck the ground.

_"Pyro Blaster!"_

Impmon ducked down at the last second, the fireball rocketing over him. He felt a searing pain in his ears as it passed by. Grabbing them, he brought them down for a quick inspection and gaped at them in horror as smoke rose from their tips.

"Aw nuts… That's gonna leave a mark…" Surging to his feet, he glared at Growlmon. "Now see here! I'm not gonna fight you if you're gonna _fight back!"_

Spinning on a dime, Impmon tore down the streets and toward the city.

_"Lousy Pineapple Head!"_ he shouted over his shoulder.

Breathing heavily, Growlmon watched him go before looking around. He knew he had to go back and hide, but he felt dreadfully bone tired.

_Takatomon…_ His face fell. He wanted to be with his partner right now, but he couldn't just go to his house again and wake him up. It had been hard enough getting there without being noticed, and no doubt he would be cranky if his sleep was disturbed again…

Sleep… Growlmon _needed_ to sleep.

Slouching over to a nearby playground, he plopped himself down and curled right up.

"I'll just…rest here for a minute," he told himself, closing his eyes.

He would rest there before going back to the tunnel to hide.

Taking a deep breath, he crashed headlong into the wall of sleep and didn't wake up even when the faint rays of daylight touched him.


	48. Episode 9-10: Shut Down

"… _schools have been closed pending an official investigation into last night's incident that destroyed a bridge and shut down traffic throughout the entire city block,"_ Takato heard the radio buzz as he snuck downstairs. _"Presently the federal bureau of digital law enforcement has refused to answer any questions regarding eyewitness accounts involving the damage being a result of a digimon battle…"_

The goggle-wearing boy winced at that as he ducked around the corner and into the side of the kitchen where a pile of bread awaited. Snatching up a bag, he immediately began piling it in. After filling it to the brim, he glanced at it, frowned, and then took a second bag and repeated the process.

Growlmon had been a heavy eater just as a Rookie. Who knew what he was like as a Champion?

Distantly he heard his father grunt as he went about the morning's chores.

"Why can't you ever take out the heavy stuff?" he complained to Mie as he stepped past the bread room, holding the small of his back.

"I don't know," he heard his mother's amused retort. "How come you never help out with the laundry?"

"That's different!"

"Of course it is…"

_Different…_ Takato furrowed his brow, hesitating on tying off the bags. _Maybe I should double up?_ he wondered before shaking his head. He was already taking more than enough from his parents' business already. He didn't want to give them a reason to start asking questions he didn't want to answer. Deciding that he grabbed enough, he immediately darted out the door, the bell signaling his exit to his parents.

"Huh?" he heard them say in unison.

"I'm taking the day-old bread!" he called at the door. "And the day-old-day-old bread!"

With that, he was gone, leaving his befuddled parents behind and running down the streets.

_Poor Growlmon…_ he thought, his feet pounding the pavement as he dodged the traffic of people swarming his home street. _I hope he's doing all right. He just looked so out of it last night… Well, more like this morning since it was after midnight and… Well, who cares_ when _it was. Growlmon just wasn't happy._

He hoped that his partner had managed to revert to his Rookie form during the night. His partner's state of happiness aside, it would be much harder to move about as Growlmon, especially during the day time. The only place big enough to hide him was currently the tunnel, and that would get old rather fast.

Time wore on until he finally reached the tunnel in question. Smiling eagerly, he picked up the pace.

"Growlmon's gonna be so happy to see me," he chuckled, pushing the door open and stepping inside. "Well… The food anyway."

_Hope he doesn't eat me by accident,_ he thought, adjusting his grip on the bags. _He could swallow both of these bags whole and…_

"Ah!" he cried out suddenly, the tunnel door closing behind him with a heavy click. He stood there for one, long moment, shock registering in his system.

He saw the tunnel, glowing red and orange, but of the crimson, bread-snarfing, fire-breathing dinosaur there was no sign.

"He's gone…" he groaned, the two bags in his hands sliding out and tumbling to the floor.

"Does _don't leave_ have another meaning?" he asked in exasperation. Running a hand over his face, his shoulders sagged. It looked like he was going to have to call the Digidestined for help.

Again.

**###**

Takeru entered the main control room, his expression stern as he flicked his lighter open. "What do you have?" he asked Yolei. The woman was seated at a console rather than her usual station. Turning, she nodded to him.

"You really need to see this," she said. "A few minutes ago we picked up an abnormal data pattern – a _massive_ one. Our Tracers have visual contact now."

Coming to a stop behind her, Takeru frowned at the screen. It appeared that there were large chunks of ice floating in digital space…and something else.

"It's a digimon," Yolei confirmed. "High level Wild Type."

"Do you know what the species is?" he asked, leaning forward and resting a hand on Yolei's chair. It appeared to be bringing something along. The ice was merely packaging. The readouts didn't identify anything, but whatever it was, it was most certainly bigger than a bread box.

"Not yet," Yolei replied, typing in some commands. "I'm going to go for a level three active scan now. Hopefully we'll get something before it bio-emerge-."

There was a flash of light from the screen, causing both Digidestined to cover their eyes at the intensity. Lowering her arm, Yolei stared at the visual display, her mouth parting in shock. Where before there had been the form of a digimon and ice, there was now…nothing.

"Sir! It succeeded!"

**###**

Rika made her way down the streets, a thoughtful expression on her face. School was closed, so she didn't have anything to occupy her mind, and with the call of the street causing her to become restless, she eventually took off in spite of her grandmother's concerns. There was quite a crowd as many people – particularly students – found themselves with an abundance of free time due to last night's carnage.

_Digivolving…_ she thought, pushing her hands into her pockets as she frowned slightly. _I don't understand it._

She thought back to the other two Tamers – Henry and the _Gogglehead._

_Those two…_ She still hated the thought of Takato and his partner running around, but so far, the bridge incident aside, they weren't doing anything wrong. Henry was okay she supposed, but the fact that he refused to fight seemed…wrong to her. Digimon always fought, regardless of how 'domesticated' they became. It was in their data after all. She knew her history. The documentaries stated that they came about as a result of a primitive AI encoded to fight and then were accidently unleashed onto the net – an environment brimming with Trojans, Viruses and Worms of all types; a perfect breeding ground for digivolution to take place. Then, when they came to the digital world…

_Still…_

"I've seen hamsters with more battle experience than Guilmon," she said quietly to herself, "but still he could digivolve. And so could that weenie little rabbit. And when it happened to Renamon…"

Her hands tightened in their pockets, thinking back on how she had almost lost her partner that night; how Renamon begged her to go and how she refused to leave.

"It's what I've wanted for the longest time. I should be _satisfied!"_ She drew to a halt and looked up from the sidewalk. "Still…I feel like there's something I'm missing."

A memory came to mind. The desperation on Takato's face as Devidramon pinned Guilmon to the building, crushing him. The sound of fear as Henry saw Terriermon becoming engulfed in the fire of an exploding car during their apocalyptic battle in the parking garage. Those had been triggering points, and she felt the same then when Renamon digivolved as well. She remembered that fear and terror that she would be left alone.

_Is that it? Renamon digivolved, but am I not happy because we still have a long way to go before we can go to the digital world? Is it because they got their digimon to digivolve so quickly and easily when Renamon struggled?_

She narrowed her eyes, feeling a pulse of frustration. It was starting to feel like that was the case to her…

Suddenly a cold chill ran up her back, causing her skin to prickle. Spinning around, she raised her fists to defend herself…only to find…nothing.

"What was that?" she whispered, finding herself shaking. The cold had vanished and the air became warm again, but it didn't feel welcoming at all.

_That's weird. I could have sworn I felt something._

Shaking her head, she decided to dismiss the feeling for now, and turned around to resume her journey.

_My brain was probably playing tricks on me,_ she thought, only to stop in surprise as she found herself staring down at a tiny, creampuff of a digimon with great big, green-eyes.

A digimon she had seen before during a battle with a Vilemon at a school soccer field.

"Wha…?" she began as Calumon tilted his head to one side, looking impossibly cute.

"Hiii~!" he chirped at her.

**###**

Rika wasn't the only one wandering about the city. Impmon was as well. He hopped from rooftop to rooftop, glaring about him angrily, he searched for something… _anything…_ that would hold his interest. He had tussled with some crows earlier, or more accurately flung fireballs at them while they flew off, cawing angrily at him, but that was about it.

_Ah, they just can't handle my firepower,_ he grunted, landing on the railing in front of an apartment window. _First the humans, then the birds… They're all so boring and predictable. Too bad Pineapple Head decided to fight back when I was makin' fun of him. Otherwise I'd…_

Something from inside the apartment caught his attention. Some movement. Turning, he hopped down onto terrace and walked over to the window for a better look. Peering in he suddenly pulled back, hissing through his teeth.

Seated on the couch was a human reading a book. Not that that was anything out of the ordinary, as humans were wont to read books for some reason Impmon couldn't begin to fathom, but leaning on his back _behind_ him…

A Terriermon with a book between his paws. As one, they turned the pages of their respective reading materials.

_This… This is… I don't believe it…_ Making a disgusted noise, he placed his hands on his hips disapprovingly. "Some digimon are so stupid it hurts. They hang out with humans so much they start acting like them! It makes my fur stand on end!" Spinning around he threw his hands up, as though beseeching the heavens for a response to this nonsense. _"Have they no pride?!"_

Not willing to put up with the scene any longer, he shot away like a bullet, hoping to find someplace where he could terrorize the locals and repress the memory of the dreaded sight.

**###**

"Hm?" Henry looked up at the window, raising an eyebrow.

"What's up?" Terriermon asked from behind him.

"Nothing," Henry shrugged. "I just thought I heard someone shouting."

"Shouting?" Terriermon giggled. "Henry, you must be hearing things. Ever since last night, you've been one giant ball of tension. It's like you're expecting a fight around every corner. Momentai already!"

Henry sighed and shook his head. "I'm _not_ expecting a fight around every corner, Terriermon," he replied, closing his book and getting up from the couch.

"Well, you sure need to momentai anyway," Terriermon pouted, falling back on the couch, one ear spilling out over the edge. "I mean, you're already looking to run off just because I'm challenging you and everything."

Turning, Henry scowled at his partner. "Terriermon…"

"Okay, so maybe not running. But you _are_ tense. I mean it. You think I can't tell? I've been resting on your back for the past hour and a half. Those muscles are practically screaming, "I'm tense! I'm tense!"" Sitting up, he flopped his ears. "Seriously. You could grind meat on those things."

"You're exaggerating." Henry rolled his eyes, amazed by the logical leaps his partner could go through at times. "Anyway, we should probably go check in on Takato and Growlmon. He should be up by now."

Terriermon giggled and closed up his book. "Interested in seeing Takatomon humiliate himself again?"

"No, Terriermon." Sighing heavily, he collected their books and took them back to his room. "Just… Look. I'm just not comfortable with the idea of him possibly losing his partner because of this. Growlmon's just too huge to keep out of sight for very long. At least when you digivolve to Champion I can still hide you in Guilmon's home."

"Relax." Terriermon hopped off the couch and toddled after his partner. "I only took about half a night and Growlmon was way more tired than I was when we left."

"He's also bigger than you were," Henry pointed out. Hopping up onto the boy's shoulder, Terriermon giggled.

"All I'm saying is, momentai, all right? I'm not trying to get out of seeing ol' Guilmon or anything. At this point, he'd probably be a lot more fun than you."

Henry gave the rabbit-dog a sardonic look. "Terriermon…"

"What? Let's get a move on already! If you stand around scolding me all day, we're never going to get anywhere."

Chuckling, Henry placed their books back on the shelf.

"For once we can agree about something…"

**###**

Rika crossed the street, trying to keep as much distance as possible between herself and the annoying ball of cuteness that followed after her, eyes wide, arms and ears out and on full display, and a smile that just didn't know when to quit despite all his attempts at getting her to play or even acknowledge him were rebuffed with a scowl. Finally having enough, Rika turned around and gave Calumon another harsh glare that did nothing to wither his endless supply of happy smiles.

"I _don't_ have any food," she said finally, hoping that would put him off. "So _why_ are you following me?"

Trotting right up to her, Calumon beamed happily.

"Wanna play?" he asked for what had to be the thousandth time. Tilting his head to one side, his eyes grew even wider. "Huuuh?" he prompted in a childish, sing-song voice. Rika simply narrowed her eyes in response.

The glare appeared to have been some kind of signal, because before she knew what was happening, Calumon took a hop, followed by another hop and then leapt into the air at her.

"Here I _come!"_ he shouted, latching onto her shoulders with his tiny arms while tucking his oversized feet between her arms. Gasping in surprise, Rika reflexively wrapped her arms around him, only to jerk back as Calumon nuzzled his nose against hers.

"What are you doing?" she demanded heatedly, only to be met with an insane amount of giggles in response.

_"Eskimo kisses!"_ Calumon replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"I don't _care_ if it's _Eskimo kisses!"_ Rika exclaimed, as yet making no attempt to pull him away from her. "You're being annoyi-!"

"Rika!"

Blinking in surprise and embarrassment at the sound of the familiar voice, Rika spun around to find her mother, Rumiko, running toward her, waving a hand at the girl. All at once, there was a sudden rise in conversation about them as people took notice of her.

With good reason too, as Rika suddenly noted the series of posters splashed on the building next to her depicting her mother wearing a summer outfit and a wide-brimmed hat. Her mother was a world-famous model after all, and it was difficult for her to go anywhere without causing a stir, even when trying not to be noticed.

Rika backed up unconsciously as her mother drew to a halt in front of her, unconsciously pulling Calumon all the more tightly to her.

"M-Mom, what are you doing here?" she stammered out, cursing herself for suddenly sounding that way.

At Rika's question Rumiko tilted her head to one side and immediately launched into a story about how her day went, much to Rika's despair.

"What a day," she groaned. "We had a photo shoot, but before we could start, these people showed wanting my autograph, asking me the secrets to my youthful good looks. They just wouldn't leave me alone. We couldn't get anything done all day. Being famous and popular can be a pain in the neck. You are _so_ lucky you don't know how that feels."

While Rumiko rambled, Rika steadily backed away, hoping that she could slip into the crowd without being noticed by them. The last thing she wanted was to be caught on the cover of some celebrity magazine, especially with Calumon in her arms.

_Better yet. I should get out of here before_ Mom _noticed Calumon…_

"Yeah, lucky me," Rika replied, her mouth twitching into an agitated smile. "Well, got to go."

She had just started to turn around when Rumiko called for her to wait. Flinching, she looked back and pulled Calumon even more tightly to her, hoping that, by some sheer chance, she could hide the little digimon.

"Huh?" she asked, looking at her mother.

Smiling, Rumiko pointed at her.

"Rika, I think your toy is just _adorable!"_

Groaning mentally, she glanced down at the _adorable_ toy.

"You _had_ to be cute, didn't you?"

Calumon's only response was to blink at her while smiling happily up at her.

**###**

Ken stretched and yawned in his seat, causing Davis to look at him and grin.

"What's the matter there, Ken 'ol buddy? Yolei keep you up late again?"

Ken snorted and folded his arms over his chest as he rested his eyes. "Takato needed my help last night. Growlmon left the tunnel last night…to 'play' apparently."

"Play?" Davis cocked an eyebrow. "Seriously? Past midnight?"

"Why not?" asked DemiVeemon, looking up from one of Wormmon's brownies that he was munching on. "2:00 in the morning is the best time to play you know."

"How do _you_ know that?" Davis asked. "Have you been leaving the house without permission?"

"Well… No. But that's what you taught me. You used to hit the town a lot, remember?"

Davis groaned. "DemiVeemon… I haven't done that since I was in college."

"It's still the truth!"

"The hard part was getting him down from Takato's bedroom terrace," Wormmon grumbled as he crawled into the room. "I still don't know how he managed to get up there without being seen…or making any noise!"

"Chalk it up to just one of those weird mysteries about Growlmon," Ken sighed, leaning forward on his desk. "He sure has a lot of them after all. Like where the Digital Hazard came from."

"Why's that a big deal?" Davis asked, getting up from where he sat and heading over to Ken's desk. "I never got that. I mean, sure, Lucemon had one, but that was it. He was the only Hazard user we had to fight."

"I know, and that's what worries me. There aren't many digimon in the digital world that are marked by the Hazard. I'm just…worried that Guilmon might be a part of some conspiracy involving Lucemon. We defeated his armies, but I'm sure at least some of his soldiers survived."

"I don't know…" Davis lifted his cup of coffee and took a sip. "He seems a little too bright and innocent to be a sleeper agent."

"That could be the entire point," Ken said, frowning at his friend's thick-headedness.

"You think Rika had the right idea then? Trying to delete him?"

"What? No! I just…" Ken ran a hand through his hair and groaned. "I don't know what to think right now. I'm just tired."

"Your brain goes in weird places when it's tired," Davis pointed out. "I don't know how you manage it. Mine always hurts when I think too hard about this stuff."

"Enjoy your simple life," Ken sighed, falling back into his chair. Across from him, his friend chuckled lightly.

"Ken, if I wanted a simple life, I wouldn't be…"

Davis was interrupted by the sound of their digivices buzzing in alarm. Taking them out, they found a signal dropping in on them.

"What's going on…?" Davis began, only to be interrupted again as a cloud of ice suddenly exploded from the main entrance, blanketing them in a thick, heavy storm of cold.


	49. Episode 9-10: Hidden Hearts

Henry made his way down the streets and into the park, certain that he would find Takato there. The most logical place, he felt, would be to look in on the tunnels, but given recent events he couldn't be sure if Takato or Growlmon would be comfortable with that.

_It was probably just a fluke,_ he thought to himself, feeling a touch of relief as the noise of the city faded into the background, replaced by the sounds of birds chirping and rustling tree branches. _Like a weird glitch from the digital world. And it was destroyed anyway, so we probably don't have to worry about it again._

_At least, that's what I hope…_

Turning a corner, he began to climb the steps to Guilmon's home to see if the dynamic duo was there. If Growlmon had dedigivolved during the night – which was possible – that would be where they were. If not…

_It'll be like hunting for a needle in a haystack._

On his shoulder, Terriermon's ears twitched in agitation, causing the boy to look at him curiously.

"What's up, Terriermon?"

"Sounds like there's a bit of trouble up ahead," he said, raising his ears. "Can you hear it?"

"Not yet. I don't have ears like yours I'm afraid. How bad is it?"

"Well…Ms. Kamiya is there and Takatomon sounds a little…upset."

Frowning, Henry picked up the pace. As he drew closer he could start to hear the voices of the two in question. Yes, Takato certainly sounded agitated about something and Ms. Kamiya was trying to settle him down.

"…don't know why Ken and Davis aren't answering. I'll look into it. For now, let's just focus on finding Growlmon."

"Yeah, he can't be that hard to find," came the voice of Gatomon in support of her partner.

_That doesn't sound good…_

"What's going on?" Henry asked, reaching the top of the stairs to find the teacher and her pupil together. Takato looked exhausted and a bit frantic as well.

_It's always something, isn't it?_ Henry thought sympathetically. Kari turned and pressed her lips together into one thin line, her face tense.

"Ah… Henry. It's Growlmon. He's…"

"He disappeared," Takato interrupted, his voice choking. "After showing up at my house in the middle of the night, Ken and I took him down to the tunnel where he got lost that one time and now…now he's gone. He was probably taken by that weird thing again and now who knows _where_ he is."

"Hold on," Henry said as Terriermon hopped down from off his shoulder. "Are you sure he didn't just walk down the tunnel?"

It seemed like an obvious question to ask, and he suspected it already had been, but he felt it best to go down the list just in case as Takato could be a bit flakey at times. Takato nodded.

"Yeah. I walked up and down that tunnel so many times I wore a groove in the floor."

_That's quite the hike,_ Henry grimaced. _It goes all the way to the next town._

"What about your digivice?" he asked.

"We've already tried both of ours," Kari said, shaking her head. "It looks as though wherever Growlmon is, he's either not doing anything for us to detect or he's out of range."

Henry had to admit that would go a long way toward making Takato worried. The city was on high alert for wild digimon right now, and finding one of Growlmon's size just hanging out in a flood tunnel would look extremely suspicious. Coupled with past experience with the tunnel, it was no wonder why Takato would be so worried. Being out of range could mean he could be anywhere from a government lab to the digital world or…deleted.

He shuddered at the thought.

"Maybe we can help," Henry said, looking down at his partner. "Terriermon?"

"Yep?" the long-eared dog-bunny digimon asked, looking up, already suspecting where this was going.

"Go see if you can find Growlmon."

Terriermon sighed and turned around, hopping down the steps. "I'm on it!" he chirped back before continuing in a grumbling voice. _"Since I guess I have no_ choice."

Henry watched him go with a touch of annoyance, having caught that last parting remark. Turning to Takato, his expression softened upon seeing Takato's forlorn face. Kari, having seen it as well, placed a hand on the boy's shoulder and gave it a soft squeeze.

"It'll be okay, Takato," she said. "Don't worry."

Takato nodded, but the moaning affirmative contradicted him. Heaving a small sigh, she turned to Henry.

"I hate to do this, but could you help Takato find his partner? I need to go make sure everything is all right at Ken's office. For some reason he's not responding and his phone lines are dead."

Henry nodded, frowning slightly at the Digidestined of Light. There was a feeling of tension coming from her that was almost palpable. She appeared to be trying to keep it down so as to not worry Takato.

"Sure," he said, opting to give her that privacy. "Let us know if everything is all right and if there's anything we can do."

"I will," Kari nodded before pulling away. "Let me know if you find Growlmon."

Henry nodded as she and Gatomon parted, the latter of whom sent them one final look before darting after her partner, leaving the two alone.

"How are you doing?" he asked, causing the goggle-wearing boy to repress a wince.

"I don't… I don't know, Henry. Things just keep happening and… It's almost like the universe is out to get Growlmon or something. First that girl, Rika tries to absorb him, then the tunnel… He gets into a fight with Devidramon, that Impmon digimon tries to frame him, and now he's disappeared from the tunnel again and he's still stuck as Growlmon!"

His shoulders sagged and he looked at Henry helplessly.

"What am I going to do, Henry? I can't even keep him at my house so I can watch him."

Reaching out, Henry clasped the boy on the shoulder. "Don't worry," he said, wishing he didn't feel like he was lying. "I'm sure everything's okay. When Terriermon gets back, we'll figure out where to go from there."

"Right," Takato nodded reluctantly, not feeling at all comforted by his friend's words.

**###**

Kari had been reluctant to leave Takato and Henry behind to look for Growlmon by themselves. It felt too much like she was passing the buck, but she couldn't afford to dwell on it.

The urgent text message from Yolei – something she had _never_ expected to receive in a million years since she started working for Hypnos – citing a bio-emergence signal that had been right on top of Ken's agency left her in a state of great worry and concern. She had tried calling him via his cell phone – even though Yolei had already told her that she met with failure on this front – and Davis' as well, just to be on the safe side. That both turned up absent did nothing to appease the growing sense of unease in the back of her mind.

"Gatomon?" she asked, looking down at her partner. The feline digimon turned her blue-eyes at her as she padded along beside her.

"What is it, Kari?"

The woman turned away. "N-Nothing," she said. Gatomon frowned.

"You're worried about that message you got." A statement. She didn't actually know the contents of the text her partner had received, but she knew well her well enough to have picked up the change in her demeanor since getting it.

"I…yes." Kari's fingers bit into the palms of her hand. She quickly explained the situation, and Gatomon nodded, listening carefully.

"Do you think it has anything to do with Growlmon's disappearance?" Kari asked. "Ever since the tunnel, he seems to have become a target."

"Let's not jump to conclusions," Gatomon advised. "Remember what Izzy always had to tell Davis? _Fools rush in where angels fear to tread."_

"We're not treading on any ground yet, Gatomon," Kari frowned.

"You're walking on the ground of fear and panic though. Emotions can be a terrain all on their own too. Peaks and valleys… Quicksand… The Dark Ocean knows just what it needs to take advantage of you know. What ground it's strong on. Look; we don't really know what's going on with Ken and Davis. We don't know what happened to Growlmon. It might be a good idea to expect the worst since, you know, that's our line of work, but I think we really should be hoping for the best right now."

"Hope…" Kari's expression softened and she looked away, her feelings becoming a mixture of sadness and frustration. "I wish Tai and TK were here…"

"They're not though," Gatomon frowned. "Tai's off doing whatever he's doing in the digital world and TK… Well, you know how he's never been the same since the war. We've got to adjust. You know that."

"I know." Kari forced her hands to relax, revealing the imprints of her nails in her palms. _It's just so hard letting go sometimes…_

She remembered how devastated she had been when she learned her older brother had vanished into the digital world, having just woken up from the titanic final battle. Takeru's coldness and general withdrawal from everyone only made it worse, nearly causing her to collapse under the weight of her trauma.

_If it hadn't been for Yolei and the others…_

She tightened her hands back together again.

_Come on, Kari… Get a grip. You have students…new Tamers depending on you. You need to rely on yourself more if you're going to get anything done!_

Picking up the pace, she hurried along, Gatomon doing likewise.

**###**

_"Growlmon!"_ Terriermon called, ignoring the tense looks of passersby as he marched right past them, tiny paws cupped around his mouth. "Hey, _Growlmonnn!"_

Dropping his paws, he looked around in annoyance. To think that Henry had given him the order to just go off and look for the Champion on his own – _With my tiny self unable to see over bushes!_ he grumbled internally – was nothing short of insanity in his eyes. _Just how the heck am I supposed to_ find _him in this city all by myself?! It's nuts!_

Nonetheless, he would do as he had been bid, if only to see the look on Henry's face when he came back with the big-red dino in tow.

"Let's see… If I were a great red dinosaur looking for fun, I'd go…" He swung around and spotted a playground full of children. He tapped a paw on his chin thoughtfully, still not seeing any sign of Growlmon. _He doesn't look like he's there… And this would be the place to go for fun!_

"Oh, who knows _where_ he'd go! Dinosaurs are weird!" Cupping his paws around his mouth, he tried again. "Growlmon, come on! This isn't _fun_ anymore!"

Still no sign of movement from the Champion. Sighing dejectedly, Terriermon turned and started down the park path, wishing Henry had come with him just so he wouldn't have to suffer alone.

Time passed, and nothing changed except for scenery he had seen a thousand times already during his long stay in the real world. The only thing of note had been a couple arm in arm and having a discussion about the man wearing a toupee on his chest for some reason. Approaching another playground – this one with concrete sculptures – he hopped up onto a railing and placed a paw on his chin.

"How could something so big be so hard to find?" he wondered aloud. "This should be like trying to find a haystack in a haystack! Where could he be hiding? Hmmm…"

He continued to scan the playground, taking extra care to make sure he didn't miss a spot. He felt as though this time he were close, but where…?

He paused on one spot, turned back to another that he had just passed over and his jaw fell open. There, snoozing away, big and red, was Growlmon, covered in kids as they climbed all over his back and slid down his tail like a slide. All the while, an adult looked on, amazed at the 'realism' of this particular statue.

"Ah!" Terriermon yelped. _"Growlmon!"_

**###**

Kari didn't know what to expect when she arrived at Ken's detective agency, but it certainly wasn't what she found.

"What…is going on here?" she whispered, stopping at the police tape as she took in the scene before her. Black vans surrounded the building as federal agents – covered in hazard suits – milled about, taking readings and samples. That wasn't the strange part. This much she at least figured on seeing, but the ice? The sheer amount of it, from top to bottom, at the tail end of spring, and all focused on this _one_ building…

She took a shaky breath and then hissed through her teeth. A gust of wind had blown the bitter cold emanating from the agency building in her direction. It felt so harsh that it almost felt as though it _burned_ its way into her lungs!

_The door is broken open…_ she thought, taking a step back. _It looks like whatever happened came from the inside._ _Yolei did say that the bio-emergence happened right on top of them…_ Her mind thought back to Ken's investigations involving an IceDevimon.

"Gatomon…"

"Yeah," the feline digimon nodded in agreement. "I'm thinking it too. That IceDevimon got to them."

"We've got to find out if they made it out all right," Kari said, stepping under the police tape.

"Kari!" Gatomon exclaimed, grabbing at her skirt. Before either of them could say or do anything more, Takeru's voice caused them both to jerk to a halt and turn in his direction.

"Ms. Kamiya," the Digidestined of Hope greeted as he approached them. Feeling her heart skip a beat, Kari nodded back to him.

"T-Takeru…" she whispered, cursing herself for sounding that way – again! Oh, how she wished it were easier to talk to him, like it had been when they were children. Forcing her stance to relax, she schooled her expression to neutrality.

"Takeru," she tried again. "I…was coming to visit Ken and Davis and…" She glanced at the agency. "What happened? Is anyone hurt?"

"Ms. Kamiya," Takeru said sternly, coming to a halt in front of her and flicking his lighter open. "You are at a crime scene. You do not have authorization to be here."

"I'm just worried about _our_ friends," Kari reminded, her voice harsh at his cold treatment toward her. Didn't he _ever_ remember how they all used to be friends? Still, to humor him, she pulled the tape line up and stepped back onto the other side.

"Takeru…please. We don't have to be like this all the time. If nothing else, at _least_ let me know if anyone's been hurt!"

Takeru flicked his lighter closed, considering her request for a moment. "As far as I know, there have been no injuries. The two interns, Miki Kurosaki and Megumi Shirakawa have been sent home after questioning shortly after arriving."

"Davis and Ken?" Kari asked, noticing that Takeru didn't say anything about them or their partners.

"I have agents checking their usual locations now," Takeru replied. "That is all I can tell you."

"That's all?" Gatomon said, stepping forward with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes." Takeru turned his gaze down toward her, his expression hard. "That is _all_ I can tell you at the moment."

The three of them stared at each other for a moment before Kari nudged her partner gently.

"Thank you, Takeru," she said, bowing slightly. "I'll get out of your hair now."

With nothing more to be said, Kari turned and started back in the direction of the park. Gatomon shot one last, dark look at Takeru before following after her.

"That was very informative," she said once they were out of earshot.

"Davis and Ken are missing," Kari said. Her voice felt like it was starting to choke up from emotion, but she forced herself to stay focused.

"You're expecting the worst?" Gatomon reminded her.

"I…don't know. But I think it looks too much like we should. To just suddenly disappear like that when their agency is attacked? It's too much of a coincidence." She narrowed her eyes and took out her phone. "We need to contact the others. Let them know what's going on so they'll at least be on their guard."

"Hopefully Terriermon made it back to Henry and Takato," Gatomon remarked, causing Kari to nearly drop her phone in horror.

"Oh kami…" she hissed. "We need to get to them _fast!"_

**###**

Rika arrived at a shinto temple and looked carefully around. Seeing no one, she set Calumon down and folded her arms over her knees, fixing him with a stern look.

"Listen you little squirt," she said. "I'm immune to your ootsy, cutesy act, so scram!"

Her eyes flashed angrily as she stood up. Seeing the raw fire in her eyes, Calumon squeaked and backed off, his eyes swimming with sadness. She…didn't want to play? She was mad at him? No…not mad. _Hated_ him. His ears fell and he hesitated, only to see that she remained staunch in her gaze. Finally, with one great sob, Calumon tore off, tears blinding him. Placing her hands on her hips, Rika watched him go, feeling a bit bad about having to be mean to the little digimon.

_It's for his own good though,_ she thought.

"Keep going, shorty!" she encouraged before heaving a sigh. She still couldn't believe that out of all the Tamers, Calumon had been so insistent on trying to play with _her._

_What does he think I am? A charity for fun? Dream on…_

She shivered suddenly as a cold chill ran down her spine, and with it came an oppressive sensation of being… _watched._ Just like earlier, right before she met Calumon. Her head snapped up as she felt a surge of fear and she opened herself to her connection with her partner.

_Renamon?_

The horrible feeling vanished almost as soon as it appeared and she spun around, finding nothing but the shrine to greet her, though the raw chill in the air continued to bite at her exposed skin. She took a shaky breath, glancing around her surroundings.

_I could have sworn that I felt something for sure that time…_

"You called?" Renamon asked, materializing out of thin air by a tree. Turning on her, Rika clenched her fists tightly.

"Where have you _been?!"_ she shouted angrily. Unflinchingly, Renamon craned her head toward a building.

"Watching you from over there," she replied simply before looking back at the girl.

"Oh…" Rika breathed, relaxing her guard, but she still couldn't shake the uneasiness in her heart.

Renamon regarded the girl carefully, eyes worried. "You don't look well. Rika, is there something troubling you?"

Shaking her head, Rika stormed away.

"N-Nothing. I'm fine."

Renamon watched the girl go, tilting her head to one side in curiosity before vanishing once more, resuming her watch over her Tamer, an uneasiness starting to form in her heart as well.


	50. Episode 9-10: The Arch of the Primary Colors

Takato and Henry skidded to a halt at the location Terriermon claimed to have seen Growlmon, gasping for breath. They quickly scanned the area, finding nothing but children, some of whom were crying and shouting angrily as an adult tried to calm them down. A bit unusual, but not exactly out of the ordinary.

Not unlike it would be if there was a giant, red, fire-breathing dinosaur in the area, of which one was absent.

"Where is he?" Takato rasped, running up to the railing and looking around desperately. Following after him at a slower pace, Henry took a more measured glance, frowning slightly.

"Are you sure you saw him here, Terriermon?" he asked.

Confused, the long-eared dog-bunny hopped down from Henry's arms and raised a tiny paw to his mouth, unable to understand what was going on. Looking down at him, Henry's face became serious.

"Terriermon… Is this some sort of game?"

"It's not a game! He was here!" Terriermon pleaded as Takato broke away from them and started running off to do a more thorough search.

_"Growlmon!"_ Takato called, his heart pounding in his chest as he forced his lungs to resume their earlier labors. A cramp knotted in his side just below his ribs, forcing him to clutch at it and slow to a vestige of a run. "G-Growlmon!" he cried out again, his voice deflating a bit as he forced himself to keep going. This wasn't fair! It was as if every time he turned around, Growlmon was disappearing.

_What was the digital world_ thinking _when it chose me to receive a digivice? I can't keep track of Growlmon even on my good days and…_

"Takato…" came Growlmon's pitiful voice from out of nowhere. "Over here."

_…and he's invisible?_

Eyes widening in surprise, Takato ground to a stop and quickly traced his partner's voice to its owner, spying the familiar, red dino-head poking out from behind some brush.

"Growlmon!" Takato exclaimed happily, quickly running over to him, his cramp instantly forgotten. "What are you doing in the bushes?"

"See?" Terriermon laughed, bouncing after the goggle-wearing boy, Henry quickly following after him. "I told you it wasn't a game!"

"First time for everything," Henry chuckled, drawing up behind their friend as he began to scold his partner.

"Growlmon, what were you thinking? I told you not to leave the tunnel."

"I know," the large digimon replied sadly, dropping his head back down into the brush in shame. "But I couldn't help it."

_"Couldn't help it?!"_ Takato was flabbergasted. "It seems like not leaving the tunnel is pretty easy to do!"

"It is!" Growlmon countered, his golden eyes seeking understanding from his Tamer. "When Impmon isn't throwing fireballs at you. He woke me up, then bada-boomed me right out of the tunnel!"

Takato watched as his partner shuddered in recollection of the memory, and he felt a great deal of pity for him. He remembered Growlmon and Terriermon telling him about Impmon's mischief in the park. He still felt bad about being so quick to pin the blame on his partner when he hadn't given him a chance to explain himself. This time, he would listen. He owed his partner that much.

So he listened to Growlmon's story; how Impmon woke him up and then, fed up with being ignored by the sleeping dino, chased him out with repeated attacks until Growlmon finally got fed up and shot a fireball at him, sending a very clear and concise message that Impmon took seriously. He listened when Growlmon explained that, in his exhaustion, he fell asleep out in the open, believing he would only be there for 'just a minute'. Takato found himself nodding, understanding his partner's dilemma.

"And when I woke up," Growlmon finished, "a bunch of kids were playing on me! I'm sorry, Takato. I didn't mean to break my promise!"

Terriermon looked over at Takato with a sympathetic expression on his face. "Forgive him already," he pleaded.

"It's okay, Growlmon," Takato said, offering his partner a reassuring smile.

"It would have been better without all the burning," Growlmon chuckled, returning it.

Turning to Henry in concern, he tapped his chin thoughtfully. "So…Henry. Where do you think we could hide Growlmon? I don't want to send him back to the tunnel if he's just going to get harassed by Impmon again."

"Hmmm…" Henry turned up to Growlmon to consider the possibilities as Takato continued.

"There's got to be someplace he can't be seen."

_Can't be seen…_ he mused, thinking hard. How were they supposed to hide a house-sized dinosaur from public view was going to be…

A smile bloomed across Henry's face as an idea came to him. "That's it! Camouflage!"

"That sounds painful…" Growlmon moaned, trying to bury himself in the bushes once more. Takato laughed.

"We're just going to paint you, like putting on makeup."

"That sounds even _more_ painful!" Growlmon protested, not sounding the least bit convinced. He didn't know what makeup was, but it didn't sound good.

Takato however was enthusiastic. _Finally,_ a solution that would work! _But where to get the paint…? Oh!_

"You know what?" Takato beamed excitedly. "There's paint left over from when my parents painted the store!"

Growlmon poked his head out of the bushes and tilted it questioningly. "But…who'd want to put makeup on a store?"

Takato, Henry and Terriermon all laughed.

"It's only _like_ makeup," Takato laughed. "It's not really makeup. It's… You know what? Never mind. We'll be right back, Growlmon. Don't go anywhere!"

"He says after chasing after him across the city…what? Three…Four times last night?" Terriermon asked sarcastically, irking the two boys.

"Terriermon…" began Henry.

"What?" the long-eared, rabbit-dog protested. "I'm just pointing out a fact! Sheesh! It's not my fault the universe seems to have it in for him!"

"It's okay, Takato," Growlmon placated. "I'll do my best to stay here. I won't move a muscle. I promise."

"I trust you, boy," Takato smiled before shooting Terriermon a sharp look. "We'll be right back, so don't worry."

"Okay."

With that, the three took off at a brisk pace. Henry turned to Takato, smiling at him. It was good to see someone try to find a solution to a problem that _didn't_ involve fighting or blowing things up.

He wondered if that would be a trend.

_Don't count on it,_ he told himself pessimistically. _After all, Rika has no problems looking for a fight whenever it suits her…_

"Oh!" Takato began as they turned down the park path and toward the city. "We should probably let Kari know that we found Growlmon. I bet she'll be relieved!"

"Yeah," Henry agreed, taking out his cell phone and tapping it. He frowned when it didn't respond. _Huh… That's weird…_

"What's up, Henry?" Takato asked, seeing his hesitation. Henry blushed in embarrassment as he realized what the problem was.

"Oh… I just…forgot to charge my phone up before leaving the house. It…ah…It's out of power."

Takato gave him a blank look before finally shrugging.

"Well… We'll worry about that later. We can plug you in when we get to my house."

**###**

Kari arrived at Guilmon's home and brought a hand to rest on its iron bar door, breathing heavily.

"They're…not here…" she panted, wiping an arm over her forehead, leaving a sheen of sweat on her sweater's sleeve. Grimacing at it, she pulled out her cell phone and checked for messages, once more finding nothing from Henry since she sent him a text message regarding the situation at Ken's agency.

_This is bad… Very bad…_

"Get a grip, Kari," she whispered, tightening her grip on a bar before letting go. She turned down to look at her partner, whose whiskers were twitching at the state of the concrete bunker. "Gatomon," she began. "Can you go find them on your own?"

"I don't want to leave you alone, Kari," Gatomon said, crossing her arms over her chest. "Not with that IceDevimon out on the loose."

Kari opened her mouth to argue, but stopped when she saw the defiant look in her eyes. A look that was also haunted by memories of the past. What Gatomon left unspoken when she said she wouldn't leave Kari alone was the word _again._

"All right," Kari replied finally, starting to go through her address book and stopping on Sora's. She hit the call button.

"Please be there…" she whispered, shifting from one foot to the next anxiously. Finally, after what felt like an aching eternity, the other end clicked as it was answered.

_"Hey, Kari. What's…?"_

"Sora, listen!" she interrupted. "Davis and Ken are missing and their agency has… An ice-version of Devimon might have attacked it! I've been trying to get a hold of Henry and Takato, but Henry's not answering his phone. I'm doing everything I can to find them, but I'm going to need…"

_"…help,"_ Sora finished. _"Understood. I'm on my way. Where do you want to meet?"_

"Where are you now?"

_"I'm currently at work, but Biyomon can get me to wherever you are quickly."_

"I'm at Guilmon's home."

_"Okay. I'll spread the word and see what I can come up with before meeting with you."_

Kari nodded in agreement. "I'll call Takato's house. Maybe his parents have seen him and I'm freaking out over nothing." She ran a hand through her hair. "Stay safe, Sora."

_"See you soon."_

With that, Sora hung up and Kari immediately began dialing the number to Takato's home. It wasn't in her address book, but she had called it from the school so often she knew it by heart. The phone rang once, and then twice, followed by a third and fourth time before finally being picked up.

_"Hello, Matsuki Bakery, how may I help you?"_

"Mrs. Matsuki," Kari began, composing herself so as to not cause the boy's mother to be worried. "I…uh… Is Takato there? I've been meaning to give him some notes that would help him with his studies, but since everything's been closed…"

_"Oh, I'm sorry Ms. Kamiya, but you just missed him. He was with his friend, Henry, and they took a bunch of old paint with them to the park."_

Kari breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Mrs. Matsuki."

With that she hung up and set herself down on the step, shaking.

"Is everything all right?" Gatomon asked, approaching her worriedly.

"So far," Kari nodded, "Takato and Henry are fine. I just missed them. They were…getting buckets of paint."

"Paint?" Gatomon tilted her head in confusion. "What would they need paint for?"

"I don't know, but I suspect it has something to do with Growlmon. They must have found him."

"So either they forgot to call or text, or something happened to Henry's phone?" she asked. "Great. And here we are, sitting on our butts until Sora and Biyomon get here."

"Correction," Kari smiled, tapping out a quick text message to Sora.

"What are you doing?"

"Telling Sora to keep an eye on her digivice, because we're going to be on the move for find Takato and Henry. They should be nearby after all. Finding them shouldn't take long and I don't like the idea of just sitting around and wasting time."

Gatomon nodded, smiled. "Now you're speaking my language," she said in agreement.

**###**

Rika strode through the park, hands in her pockets and oblivious to the world around her as she lost herself in her music. A conversation between two women joking about a man wearing a toupee on his chest didn't catch her interest in the slightest. Instead, she was doing everything she could to forget the unsettling sensation of cold…and that she was being watched.

_What is the deal with that Calumon… Or any digimon for that matter? I thought digimon were all about fighting… That documentary last year said that digimon were programmed to fight, and digimon are just data…_

_And yet…_

She narrowed her eyes, thinking back on Growlmon, and how vicious he was during last night's battle…and how uncontrollable he was in numerous battles. Yet as soon as the battle was over he…changed. Became more passive and upset that he scared anyone.

_He's a Hazard digimon!_ she thought, tightening her hands into fists. _Why should he care about upsetting anyone? Lucemon didn't…_

It seemed impossible. She knew everything there was to know about digimon, and everything she learned was that Hazard digimon were, by default, dangerous to be around. _Too_ dangerous.

_So why is it that whenever I look into his stupid eyes, all I see is some goofy, food eating doofus? Just like… Just like… He's like a bigger version of Calumon or something. And Renamon…_

She bit her lip against saying it out loud. In her mind's eye, she saw Renamon, and she saw Biyomon standing alongside her. Biyomon…

When she had been a child, Biyomon had been like something of a big sister to her. Back when she didn't understand what digimon _really_ were – zeroes and ones programmed to fight and destroy.

_I saw though… I_ saw _what they're capable of!_

In her mind's eye, she saw the video footage of Lucemon, laughing like a lunatic as he burned an entire city to the ground, the hazard glowing brightly on his hand. Lucemon… A digimon that looked like a mere _kid_ had the power to turn the entire country into _dust…_

As she followed through the memory, she saw Lucemon's face change…his eyes changing from blue to red, and the golden color of his hair taking on a light brown…

She stopped dead in her tracks as now it was _Takato –_ the idiotic Gogglehead – who was now the danger.

_He created him after all…_ she thought.

Yet…try as she might…she felt strangely foolish thinking of Takato that way. All he did was the exact opposite of what Lucemon did on the videos. And that look he got when she killed the Vilemon…or when he shouted at her for saying that Guilmon's life wasn't worth rescuing from that bizarre digital field in the tunnel…

_Looks can be deceiving,_ she thought to herself, starting up again and kicking a pebble off to the side. _My mom taught me that much. I'm sure even someone as stupid as Gogglehead is more than another 'pretty face…'_

**###**

Renamon materialized atop a tree branch as she followed her partner, unable to shake off the sense of growing concern in her heart. Rika was…agitated to say the least and wouldn't say why. Her run-in with Calumon appeared to have shaken her somehow, although for some reason Renamon suspected there was something more going on. She could feel it, like a shadow upon her heart. But what…?

She felt something tug at her senses… Something _behind her!_ Rearing up into a combat stance, she spun around and…found Impmon, lounging around on the branch as though he had not a care in the world.

"Ugh," she grunted.

"Hey, fine and foxy," Impmon taunted. "So we meet again!"

"Oh, it's just _you."_ Relaxing, she began to walk away along the branch and soon dropped down out of the tree. Annoyed by this casual disregard for the complete and utter coolness of his being, Impmon followed after her and shook a fist at her.

"What do you mean, _Just me?!_ Come back here!"

When Renamon didn't respond to him, he drew his gloved hand to his chin, rubbing it thoughtfully. Of course Renamon hadn't changed one bit since he knew her during his time with the Nightmare Soldiers. Renamon tended to be dismissive towards anyone she didn't view as 'strong'.

"Ohhh… Check out Ms. High and Mighty," he said to himself. "Maybe a good fight will knock her off her perch." Cupping a glove around his mouth, he yelled after her, "Hey! I heard Terriermon call you a fat-tailed bully! If I were you, I'd teach that egg-shaped loudmouth a lesson!"

Renamon paused in her stride and made a dismissive _huh_ sound.

"What?!" Impmon exclaimed, recognizing her reaction for what it was. "You're just going to let him get away with that?!"

"Terriermon won't fight," Renamon said, turning toward him. Impmon's mouth fell open.

_W-Wha…?_

"Why not?" he asked, dumbfounded.

"His _Tamer_ has forbidden it," Renamon replied. With nothing more to be said, Renamon turned around and resumed following after her partner, fading into thin air and leaving a flummoxed Impmon behind to ponder this bit of news.

"What kind of digimon doesn't fight?" he asked in disbelief. "Those rotten humans. They've made a pet! A _digi-poodle!"_

However, in everything that crossed Impmon's dark mind, there was always a silver lining. Where he saw disgust at Terriermon's apparent weakness, he saw an opportunity to be taken, and an evil grin spread across his face.

"But if Terriermon can't fight back then I could whoop his doughy patootie or steal his lunch and get away without a scratch!" He planted his hands on his hips as he turned his eyes skyward, already seeing victory on the horizon. "Think of the possibilities!"

**###**

Renamon chuckled, hearing the last vestiges of Impmon's premature self-congratulations – a common fault of his that often landed him in a heap of trouble. Oh, she could imagine the possibilities far more clearly than he could. Terriermon may have been forbidden to fight, but the diminutive dog-bunny had something of a knack for causing a stir.

_Better to ask for forgiveness than for permission,_ was a phrase that seemed to fit him the best.

Returning to following Rika, she went back to puzzling out her current emotional state and the source behind it. She didn't understand the changes in her partner since her digivolution. She swung wildly from one extreme to another, as though she were grappling with herself over something.

_None of the other Tamers seem to have this kind of difficulty,_ she thought. _At least none that I have seen. Perhaps…_

An ear twitched as she caught wind of something… _someone_ speaking a short ways off. No… _someone's,_ and they were all familiar.

_"Rika… I believe we have company,"_ she said through their mental link.

**###**

"Hold still, Growlmon," Takato chuckled, slathering dark green paint across Growlmon's scales.

"It'll be over soon," soothed, swiping a brush along Growlmon's shoulder, who simply groaned in response.

Whether it would be over soon or not, the time getting to the end would be fraught with complications as Terriermon slapped a brush against the bottom of Growlmon's foot and began spreading the paint out. The Champion began to jerk and laugh in response – finding himself unexpectedly ticklish. He twitched and then a great spasm rocked his body, knocking Henry and Takato off of him and causing them to spill the contents of their buckets all along his face. Laughing uncontrollably himself now at how things were turning out, Terriermon fell back on his rear, only to accidently knock over his own paint can, causing it to cover his entire face and ears. Getting up, the long-eared digimon looked down at himself with a pained expression.

Henry and Takato exchanged looks before laughing at the little Rookie digimon.

"Karma," Henry pointed out, wiping a tear from his eye. For the first time that day, all their troubles were forgotten. Growlmon being stuck as a Champion, the lack of safe places to hide Growlmon, Davis and Ken and Kari, and of course, his cell phone… All of it was gone for the time being. Henry felt great… Wonderful even. It was good to forget the world and its stresses once in a while, especially since they were actively dealing with a problem.

Soon enough they finished and Growlmon stood up for his appraisal. From top to bottom, he was covered in varying hues of green and brown. Dusting off his paint-encrusted hands, Henry folded them over his chest.

"All done, Growlmon."

"Man, you look great!" Takato beamed while Terriermon frowned slightly.

"That must be one ugly store," he muttered aloud, but the others ignored him. This was their victory, and by kami they were going to enjoy it.

"Okay now," Takato said, turning around. "Let's test it out. Go hide, Growlmon."

"Okay…" Growlmon sighed as Henry and Terriermon did likewise. There was a sound of bushes rustling as Takato waited, and upon its quieting, he turned around.

"Ready or not, here we come!" he called. "You ready? Growlmon?"

No answer came from the digital dinosaur as he and Henry scanned the park surroundings.

"Hmmm…" Takato hummed. "Wow, he takes this hiding thing seriously. Where are you, Growlmon?"

"I can't just tell you," came Growlmon's muffled response from somewhere in that tangle of green brush. "You'll have to find me!"

Terriermon planted his tiny paws on his hips and looked at the two humans. "Well if I have to look for him, you have to look for him too!"

Both boys stepped forward, looking closely at the brush. Takato narrowed his eyes, but as yet he saw…

_Wait! Is that…?_

"Hmmm… Is that him?" he asked, pointing at something odd looking that he couldn't quite make out. Terriermon rolled his eyes.

"That's a stick."

"Oh…yeah…" Takato blushed in embarrassment before continuing. "But see that knot? If you look at it from a certain angle…"

"It _still_ looks like a stick," Terriermon interrupted. "Maybe he just left!"

Henry pumped his fist into the air triumphantly. "No one will be able to find him!" he declared, causing Takato to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Great…"

"Pathetic."

"Huh?"

Turning around at the dismissive voice, they spied Rika standing a short ways behind them, her eyes cast in a cold expression as she surveyed the two boys. Takato shuddered at them, feeling as though he were under a microscope and she were looking at some kind of bug.

"A person might not be able to see him," she continued, "but any digimon who wanted to could find him in a heartbeat."

Henry bristled at Rika's comment and scowled at her. "Prove it."

"Renamon?" she called in answer to his challenge. The vulpine digimon materialized next to her, causing Takato to gape at her in surprise.

"Where…do you come from all the time?" he asked, taking a quick gander around to see if he could find some hidden gateway that would explain her appear-and-disappearing behavior. "Do you just wait around to scare us?"

Narrowing her eyes at the boy, she folded her arms over her chest. "Renamon?"

"Yes, Rika?" the kitsune asked, turning toward her.

"Find him and teach him a lesson."

"My _pleasure,_ Rika. I'll find him."

Her eyes flashing with bright light and she pointed in a direction directly off to Henry's left.

"There."

"Wait!" Panicking, Takato raced over to where she pointed, placing himself between the two, spreading his arms out as if that would somehow prevent Renamon from getting to his partner.

"You guys aren't Tamers," Rika scolded in disgust. "You're a joke. I can't believe I'm supposed to teach you two anything. Digimon aren't supposed to hide, they're supposed to fight!"  
Takato began to shiver at Rika's words. She sounded _angry,_ like she was looking for a reason to go after Growlmon.

_It never ends…_ he thought. _I don't get it. Why does she hate me and Growlmon so much? We never did anything to her…_

"You better just back off, Rika!" Henry growled, raising his digivice. He didn't care for fighting, but this was starting to look like it was going to go too far. Rika had it in for Takato and Growlmon since day one and never seemed to let up on him. Just what was her _deal?_

"Or what?" Rika scoffed. "You'll run off and hide on me? Oooh… I'm so scared!"

This boy disgusted her as well. Not as much as the Gogglehead, but his pacifist ways were nothing short of annoying to her. What? Did he think he could avoid fighting forever just because of his ideals?

_How stupid is that?_

Thunder cracked above them, as if the sky were anticipating their clash. Looking back and forth between them helplessly, Takato gathered his courage and spoke. His voice quavered though and he felt as though he had failed before he even began.

"Come on you guys, there's really no reason for us to fight over Growlmon, is there? Can't we be friends?"

In response, thunder crashed again above them and now rain began to pour from the heavens. Dumbfounded, Takato looked up at the sky.

"Huh? Hey, it wasn't supposed to rain today."

"Since when has the weatherman ever been right?" Terriermon chided, hoping to bring some much needed humor to the situation. "Hello? Someone want to answer me?"

When no one did, he crossed his tiny arms together and pouted. _"Fine!"_

They stood there in silence for a moment, glaring at each other as the rain began to pour in earnest. Takato's eyes met Rika's and in the flash of lightning that preceded the next crack of thunder, Takato saw nothing but unbridled disgust and intense dislike for him. He felt his spirit start to falter under her gaze and his shoulders sagged.

"Um… Takato," came Growlmon's voice, as if to rub salt in the wound. "I think we're going to have a problem."

"Problem? Why?" Turning, he finally spotted Growlmon, and then quickly realized _why_ he found him so fast. His eyes widened first in shock and then in despair.

"Oh no…" he heard Henry begin, quickly realizing it as well as they all saw Growlmon sitting in the brush, red scales starting to peak through the paint as it was being washed away. "The rain's making the paint run!"

"Ah, so he'll be brown instead of grey and green," piped up Terriermon. "What's the big deal?"

"No, it's making the paint run _off!"_

"Oh…" Terriermon's face fell as Growlmon began to moan pitifully. Rika could only look on in complete and utter disappointment and disgust.

"You guys used _water_ based paint?! You're even _more_ pathetic than I thought." She looked at Takato. Though she couldn't see his face, she recognized the slump of his shoulders and the way he was shaking as a clear sign of what was happening to him. He was breaking.

Not willing to watch this cowardly display from the _Tamer_ – for all the title was worth with regards to Takato – she turned around and began to walk away.

"See yu later, losers. Renamon?"

With a grunt, Renamon leapt up into the air and was gone.

Takato's face scrunched up as thunder crashed once more and the rain came pounding down all the harder. With a cry, Takato ran over to his partner and crushed his massive arm to himself in a tight hug.

"What are we going to do, Growlmon?" he sobbed desperately, having run completely out of ideas. "I can't afford oil-based paint! Why does everything I do always go so _wrong?!_ If only you could turn back into Guilmon!"

Henry and Terriermon watched the boy, not sure at all what to do to help him. They were fresh out of ideas as well, and although Henry was more well off, he knew he didn't exactly have the funds for oil-based paints either.

"Please don't cry Takatomon… My arms are starting to run."

"It'll be okay, Takato," Henry said, hoping to soothe the boy as the rain began to lighten now. It sounded like a lie on his part. He had no way of knowing for certain if anything would be okay, but…he _had_ to say something!

Anything!

"Yeah, if worse comes to worse, we can always move to Antarctica," Terriermon said, trying to be helpful.

"Terriermon!" Henry whispered harshly. That wasn't quite what he had thought of by 'anything'.

"What?" Terriermon protested. "Well we could!"

The rain stopped completely and sunlight began to peak through the clouds, casting light upon the small group. Sniffing, Takato pulled away.

"Thanks guys… Sorry for the…water works." He laid a hand back on Growlmon's arm. "I just… I don't know what to do, but…" His breath hitched in his throat and he nearly broke down once more. "We just…have to try again I guess and figure something out."

"Yeah…" Henry nodded, smiling to see that the boy was back on his feet. Looking up, Terriermon gasped as he noticed the sky was clearing up.

"Hey! It stopped raining!" he exclaimed before spying an arch of sparkling colors forming in the sky. "Takato, look! Sheesh, would you look already?"

"A rainbow," Henry breathed. "Wow…"

"Ooh, it's pretty whatever it is."

_It's sparkling…_ Henry noticed in amazement as Takato and Growlmon both stared at it. Growlmon especially was in awe of the rainbow as it arched across the sky. _Why is it sparkling? It's almost like…like…_

Turning toward Growlmon, he saw data rising from off his body.

"Now _those_ are the colors we should've painted Growlmon," Terriermon said, distracting the boy from his thoughts.

"Terriermon, we wanted him to blend in, not stick out like a sore thumb."

"Well he'd blend in fine if he were in the sky, wouldn't he? Ugh, I've gotta explain everything to you."

Light engulfed Growlmon just then, causing Henry and Terriermon to look at him in surprise.

"Huh? What's happening to Growlmon, Henry?"

"Of course!" Henry gasped in realization. "Those flecks of light must be digital matter! Growlmon's finally shedding off the excess data! But…how?" Running a hand across his mouth, he pondered it as Growlmon began to shrink. "I don't know, it's weird."

"Not as weird as what I found between Growlmon's toes when we were painting him."

"True…"

"Growlmon! I mean Guilmon!" Takato exclaimed as the light surrounding his partner faded, revealing him as having returned to his Rookie form. Guilmon looked down at himself in pleasant surprise. "Whoever you are!" Laughing, he crushed his partner to him in a powerful hug. "You're back to being Guilmon!"

Nearly breaking into a sob once more, he pulled back and smiled. "Things are _finally_ normal again."

"Yeah," Guilmon laughed happily, nuzzling his partner, grateful for having turned back to being his old self again so that Takato didn't have to worry about him anymore.

"Well…" Takato chuckled, patting his partner on the head as they both looked back up at the rainbow, shimmering brightly in the sky. "As normal as they get around here anyway."


	51. Episode 10: the Coldest Beauty

Sora was quick to spot Kari as she flew through the air on the back of Nefertimon, circling around a rising column of sparkling light.

"Biyomon!" she called out over the flap of her partner's massive, burning wings. "Do you see that?"

"Yes," Birdramon squawked. "That looks like a digimon is reverse-digivolving. That may be the one we're looking for."

"Guess Growlmon finally got all that extra data out of his system," Sora nodded. "Takato's going to be relieved. He was pretty worried about him last night."

Her eyes softened as she remembered the boy's forlorn expression. She understood what was going through his mind then; a seemingly never-ending series of battles with forces – not just that of darkness, but of life in general – that were far larger than he was prepared to deal with, and it felt like he was all too often losing to them.

Growing up was hard, and she couldn't help but wonder if Takato would come out of it all right. It wouldn't be the first time they had Digidestined or Tamers who failed to meet the tests life threw at them.

Circling once around the column of light, Nefertimon dropped down beneath the trees. It didn't take Birdramon to join them, and with a flash of dedigivolution later, Sora and Biyomon were deposited on the ground, watching Kari rush over to Takato and suddenly pull him into a powerful hug.

"Whoa!" Takato squawked in surprise. "Ms… Ms. Kamiya! Are you all right?"

Remembering herself, she pulled away, though she still looked at him with an urgent note in her eyes.

"I'm fine," she replied, frowning at the redness that dominated his eyes around his irises. "Are _you_ all right? You look like…like…"

"Like he's been crying?" Terriermon supplied helplessly, causing Takato to rub at his eyes in shame. Terriermon gave his partner a light _bop_ on the head.

"Terriermon…" he admonished, only for the long-eared rabbit-dog to look at him with confusion.

"What?! He was! What's the big deal? It's not like you haven't shed a tear before or anything.

"That's not important!" Henry scolded as Takato composed himself.

"He's fine," Guilmon said. "It's just been a skating on sausages kind of day. First I got chased out of the tunnel by Impmon, and then they put makeup on me to try and hide me. Then Rika and Renamon showed up and it started to rain and my makeup got all runny. Then I dedigivolved back to Guilmon!"

"I'm trying to find the part in that mess that makes sense," Gatomon said after she finished dedigivolving. "You put _makeup_ on Growlmon?"

"It was actually paint," Takato laughed lightly, wiping at an eye as he patted his partner lovingly.

"Really awful paint," Terriermon sniped. "Seriously, your parents painted their home with that?"

"It was cheap," Takato shrugged.

"So how does Rika fit into this," Sora asked, approaching the group. "You said she was here…"

"She wanted to teach us a lesson," Henry supplied with a frown. "Apparently our camouflage job would be wasted on digimon."

"It's true if you can't control your power," Biyomon said, stepping closer to Guilmon. "You do kind of stand out like a sore thumb you know, especially when you're in a fight. Right now you're okay unless an enemy was really looking for you."

"Can…" Takato swallowed. "Can you teach us?" he asked finally. "I know we're not much, but…" He looked down at Guilmon, feeling the weight of their helplessness settle heavily on his shoulders. "…we really _do_ need to learn how to be better Tamers."

Sora and Kari exchanged glances before nodding to each other.

"It may be important that you do learn," Kari began, her expression serious. "Takato… Henry. All of you in fact, including Rika. A…situation has developed. Ken and Davis have gone missing."

"What…?" Takato's eyes went wide as Henry stiffened suddenly, his senses becoming alert. Kari explained things to them, to the best of her knowledge. About their pursuit of an ice-digimon that had been killing digimon, and how it led them to believe it to be an IceDevimon, capping the tale with her arrival at Ken's agency and the ice that coated it.

Takato was quiet as Kari finished explaining and he looked down.

"What do we need to do?" he asked finally, pulling his hands into tight fists.

"We'll help you with that," Gatomon replied before turning to Sora. "What are we going to do about Rika though?" she asked. "She's not exactly a very friendly kitty."

"We'll handle her," Sora said, pulling out her cell phone. Browsing through her address book, she quickly found Rika's number and hit the call button. A second later, she frowned when she received only a voice mail.

"You can't get a hold of her?" Kari asked, becoming a bit worried. _If she was also taken by the IceDevimon…_

"I don't want to jump to conclusions yet," Sora said, beating back her own anxiety. "She might not have service…or be talking to her mother."

Sora winced, knowing how Rumiko could be. She liked to chat a great deal about all kinds of topics, albeit usually shopping, and would bend the ear of whomever she wanted to listen to her.

_Hopefully that's all that's happened,_ she thought to herself, dialing the number for the girl's home.

**###**

Rika walked through the gate of her home and ran a hand through her damp hair, feeling utterly disgusted and disgusting. The disgusting could be easily cleansed, but the disgusted part was proving to be harder to exorcise. The rain had started out suiting her mood regarding the goggle-wearing boy, but as time wore on following her departure, she felt more and more unhappy, every step became harder for her as her anger rose. She could still hear the boy's strangled cry as she departed; his utter helplessness at dealing with his situation.

_He needs to get that he has to grow up or just quit being a Tamer,_ she told herself. He needed a little tough love to really understand his position. He wasn't a little kid anymore. If he wanted to be a Tamer – if he was to _be_ a Tamer – he needed to drop the _naïve-little boy and his pet_ act or else Guilmon was going to be taken from him.

_It'll be for the best if he just stops trying to be a Tamer anyway,_ she thought as she took off her shoes and stepped inside.

"I'm home Grandma," she called, and the woman stepped into view, phone in hand.

"Oh! Rika!" A pause. "Yes, Sora, she just stepped in." She lowered the phone and held it out for the girl. "Would you like to talk to her?"

Rika frowned. _That Gogglehead better not have gone crying to her,_ she seethed. Today had already been bad enough as it was having to _watch_ his stupidity. If he ran to Sora because 'she was mean to him'…

Rika took it. "Hey, Sora," she said.

_"I'm glad that I got a hold of you,"_ the Digidestined of Love said on the other end, breathing a sigh of relief. _"We were getting a little worried when you didn't pick up."_

Rika took out her cell phone and checked it. _Full charge,_ she noted.

"I must have had a bad signal," she shrugged. "It happens." A pause. "Is everything all right?"

_"There may be trouble,"_ Sora replied. _"Ken and Davis have gone missing and their agency looks like it's been attacked. No one can get a hold of them, but we think an IceDevimon is on the prowl. Keep a close eye on your surroundings, okay?"_

Rika shuddered, remembering the sharp chill that she had been getting today, and the unsettling sensation that there was something – or someone – watching her.

_Just my imagination,_ she told herself, tightening her grip on the phone.

"I will," she nodded.

_"Also, if it's not too much trouble, could you join me in the park? We could use your help teaching Takato and Henry so they can protect their partners and themselves better…"_

"I can't teach them anything," Rika grunted, feeling a flash of anger at the two boys. They _must_ have told Sora if she were with them. "Besides, aren't _you_ a Digidestined? You probably know more than me anyway."

_"Rika…"_ Sora began, sounding hurt, and at once Rika regretted having snapped like that. _"There are some things that I can't teach them, such as the use of cards. You've already shown that you're good at using them in the middle of battle. If you…"_

"Henry's good enough," Rika interrupted, feeling her control over her temper slipping. "He can teach that _Gogglehead_ everything he needs to know. Other than that, he's on his own."

Sora was quiet on the other end for a moment before sighing.

_"All right,"_ she said. _"I'm sorry for bothering you. Could you put me back on with your grandmother?"_

Rika acquiesced and passed the phone over to Seiko and padded away without looking back. Seiko watched her go for a moment before bringing the phone up to her ear.

"Hello again, Sora," she said. "Yes, she seems to be upset about something. I'm sure she'll work it out, we just have to give her time…"

That was all that Rika heard as she turned a corner and entered her room. Grabbing a fresh set of clothes, she quickly changed out of them. She felt better now that she was dry again – or at least _drier_ given the condition her hair was in – but she still felt a twinge of the disgust that haunted her.

_Why am I feeling this way?_ she wondered, fingering the edge of her broken-heart T-shirt. _He's just a stupid Gogglehead._

"Rika!" came the call of her mother from outside, snapping the girl out of her thoughts. "Are you home? I've got something for you!"

Rika groaned. Today was just determined to get worse.

**###**

"Well what about this dress with the lace and poofy sleeves? Or _this_ _one?"_ Rumiko practically squealed in excitement as she held up a light orange and brown dress with teddy-bears printed on it. "Try it. It'll make you look more like a _girl."_

She held the dress up against Rika, checking to make sure that the size was right. Groaning, the poor girl looked away, not wanting to so much as _look_ at the hideous piece of clothing.

"Am I being punished for something?" she complained. "I told you before I can't stand cute things like this!"

Rumiko didn't seem to pay much attention, distracted as she was by her daughter's reflection in the mirror she had her next to. "Uh…" she began, smiling at her as if knowing a secret, "well, what about that stuffed toy I saw you holding?"

Rika turned her violet gaze up at her mother's, feeling another flash of anger at the memory of having been caught with _Calumon._

"That was for a science project," she explained coolly. "We had to measure the effects of gravity on small objects, so I threw it off a bridge!"

"Ohhh…" Rumiko tilted her head, mourning the loss of the 'cute toy'. Sighing, Rika stormed off.

"I'm outta here," she grated as Seiko stepped into the room, a bowl of strawberries in one hand.

"Well, I guess she's till into tomboy chic, huh?" Rumiko despaired, her shoulders sagging. She had hoped that this would be the moment she could connect with her daughter about _something._ They never talked much anymore and she was desperate to repair their relationship.

"Rika just has her own style, that's all," Seiko said, sitting herself down and popping a strawberry into her mouth. "Honestly dear, there are more important things in life than looking pretty."

Rumiko turned toward her mother and raised her eyebrows.

"Really? Like what?"

**###**

Rika made her way through the hallway toward her room, scowling ahead of her as she tried to push the incident with her mother out of her mind.

_At least that went smoothly,_ she thought, rubbing her arm absently as her skin prickled. A gust of ice-cold air blew over her, causing her breath to appear in front of her and she suddenly drew to a halt, gasping in surprise at the bitterness that washed over her. The sensation that she was being _watched_ was back even worse than before. Panicking, she rushed into the room beside her and slammed the door shut hard, breathing heavily. The feeling, throbbing, pulsing, _probing_ remained though, and a bright light flared to life behind her as the sound of air crackling with unseen energies followed it.

"Renamon?!" she shouted, and at once the light vanished.

"Yes, Rika?" Renamon asked, phasing into view from out of the shadows. Fighting to keep from collapsing, she walked over to her table and set herself down. She looked over her shoulder at the doors, seeing nothing but a calm, clear day.

_It's lying,_ she told herself, looking back at her partner.

"Go and see…" she began carefully, "what's out there, okay?"

"As you wish," Renamon said, walking past her. Opening the door, she looked around before returning inside. She frowned as she slid the doors shut.

"Well, who was it?" Rika demanded, her voice quavering slightly with a touch of fear. She cursed herself for sounding so weak. She wasn't!

"No one," Renamon replied, turning toward the girl. Rika spun around angrily.

"Don't lie to me! I _know_ something's out there!"

She thought of the IceDevimon again that Sora mentioned. Was that what was going on? Was it stalking her?

Renamon watched the girl, struggling inside as she fought to say what she knew needed to be said. She had an idea what was going on. Nothing but a suspicion really, as she sensed nothing and no one. And that was all she could report. In all her years of associating with the ice demon, she had never _not_ sensed him. He was too dangerous, even to her, to not keep track of.

Rika narrowed her eyes angrily at her silence.

"What's that look for?"

Renamon felt her digi-core throb in pain at the girl's distress. "Don't worry. I'll do everything I can to protect you."

"You don't _need_ to protect me!" Rika exclaimed heatedly, rising to her feet, fists shaking. "I don't know why you'd even say stuff like that!"

"Because Rika," the vulpine digimon began warily, "I'm your partner."

That did it. Rika's button snapped at that. She had heard those words before and she paid for it. Now _Renamon –_ the digimon who wanted nothing but power and came to _her_ for that strength – was saying them? Just like that _Gogglehead_ and the others?

"Let's get this straight! I don't buy all this stuff about _partners_ and _feelings!"_

Renamon's ice-blue eyes widened in shock at that, and at once Rika felt her resolve tremble.

_She looks…like she's hurt,_ a part of her whispered in realization. She quickly squashed the thought though. She knew where it led.

Unable to meet Renamon's gaze, she turned away and pushed the door open.

"I don't need you," she said quietly. "I don't need anybody!"

With a slam of the door, Rika left Renamon alone in her room.

**###**

Renamon shook, and carefully unclenched her claws from the fists they were in.

_Rika…_ she thought, looking at her paws and turning them over, as though she were just now seeing them for the first time.

_I have not been a good partner to her,_ she thought, turning her gaze up toward the mirror Rika kept at the far end of the room. _I didn't enter into it expecting to be…what I am now. Believing that we could be…more._

She closed her eyes, her arms dropping to her sides.

_I am such a fool…_


	52. Episode 10: The Heart's Bitter Cold

"Okay, here we go," Takato said, raising an Andromon card in the air. Kari and Sora leaned against a wall of stone, a short ways off, watching the scene as it played out. Striking a pose, Takato did a dry-slash of his card. "Digi-modify…activate!"

Slashing his arms apart, he paused and then relaxed. "So how'd I do?" he beamed.

Henry gave the boy an embarrassed smile. Both Sora and Kari glanced at each other, thinking the same thing.

_Does he really think that it's all about how you look?_

"Not bad," Henry replied hesitantly. Catching the underlying tone in his voice, a light blush colored Takato's face.

"Not bad?" he asked, feeling a little foolish. "I was just doing what Rika did when she…ah…"

His face dropped slightly, thinking about the girl who always seemed to be ready to fight with him.

_Just what is her deal?_ he wondered, his mood darkening. _Did I do something?_

Catching this, Henry opted to try and distract him by keeping them on task.

"Let's just work on strategies, okay? Have you ever heard of combos?"

"Sure!" Takato chirped, before hesitating. "Ah… I think I have. That's when you use two or more cards at a time, right?"

"Right," Henry nodded, raising two cards in demonstration. "And if you use them in succession you can get some pretty potent results. It's a good thing to keep in mind."

"Yeah, that and the other _million_ things you've told me."

"Don't fuss about it," Gatomon said, hopping on over toward them on the stone wall. "When Kari and Sora were kids, they didn't have cards like you do, so we had to improvise."

"Or get shot at," Biyomon added, nuzzling her partner's leg. The woman smiled and patted Biyomon's pink feathers.

"You make us sound old," Kari said, a tense smile on her face. In spite of her attempt to inject levity into the situation, she was stressing inwardly about IceDevimon. She had texted every remaining Digidestined in their team that she could, but at the moment it was down to only her, Mimi and Sora, as they were the only ones close enough to effectively combat this threat. Yolei, unfortunately, had not responded to any texts and Cody and Joe were too far away, though they would do their best to arrive as quickly as possible.

"It's what we digimon partners do," Terriermon giggled, his laugh sounding much more natural. "What? Do you expect us to behave or something? Fat chance of that!"

"Terriermon…" Henry warned, turning toward his partner.

"Wow. Rika was right. You _are_ starting to sound like a broken record."

Sora grimaced at the mention of Rika's name. Seeing this, Kari reached out and brought her hand to rest on her shoulder.

"How're you doing?"

"Hm?" Sora turned toward the Digidestined of Light and then raised her hands in a placating manner. "Oh… I'm doing fine. I'm just…"

"Sora…" Kari interrupted. "You don't have to pretend. More importantly, you _can't_ pretend with me. I work with people who try to pretend all the time that they're feeling things that they're not."

Sora's expression softened and she dropped her hands. "Sorry. It's just…" She sighed and turned her eyes skyward. "I know Rika…or I thought I did. I was so sure she would want to join us. She _loved_ digimon when she was a kid, and seeing that she became a Tamer…" She lowered her eyes back to Kari. "I guess I was wrong though, huh? I wish I knew what made her change. Years ago she wouldn't have had a problem being friends with someone like Takato."

She glanced over at the boy as he looked between the cards in his deck, searching for ones that could be used together.

"She always wanted to have a friend she could count on…"

"Who knows what's going on with her?" Kari said sympathetically. "None of us were really…all right in the head you know when we were first chosen. We weren't the worst off, but…" She shrugged and joined Sora in watching the two Tamers. "I don't know. Sometimes I get the feeling that the digital world chooses people who need to heal from something in their lives. Maybe it's the same thing with Rika."

Sora hugged her sides tightly, hoping that Kari was right. She didn't like the opposite side of that idea. Tamers weren't normally 'chosen' the way Digidestined were. They could be good, bad or in-between.

_But then…they used to be drafted into the military and given mass-produced, human-made digivices,_ she noted. The digivices Henry, Takato and Rika received were unusual in that they came from the digital world. Did that mean that they were more like Digidestined? Or were they still Tamers?

Before she could pursue those thoughts any further, a tiny, dark-colored digimon with a pale face and red bandanna with gloves popped out of a tree branch upside down, grinning at the group.

"Well, if it isn't the dum-dum club!" he greeted Takato and Henry. "Did you miss me, boys?"

"What are we? Chopped liver?" Biyomon frowned, fluffing her feathers at Impmon's direction.

"Who is that?" Sora asked, one hand going toward her digivice reflexively. "Is that…Impmon?"

"Yeah, that's him," Henry replied. "Just ignore him,"

"Easy for you to say," Terriermon grunted. "You can't smell him."

"Let's go," Takato chimed in, turning toward the brush off to the side of the path. "Guilmon! Come on!"

"Ha?" At the call, the red-scaled dinosaur tumbled out of the brush, a small butterfly escaping his nose. "We're leaving already? How come?"

Sniffing the air, he found a familiar scent and spotted Impmon hanging from the tree. Getting up, he trotted over to Takato. "Okay…"

"Wait, we're just going to leave?" Sora asked, raising an eyebrow while Impmon flipped himself up and stamped a foot on the tree branch in annoyance.

"I just want to have a friendly fight! Give you all a nice friendly _butt-kicking!"_

Kari watched as the two boys turned and started walking away before glancing up at her partner, still hanging out on the wall.

"I guess that's what we're doing," the feline shrugged, sauntering after them. Shrugging, Kari smiled.

"Well… It would be nice to not have a fight on our hands for once," she confided. However, inwardly she found the little digimon curious. Was he the IceDevimon, only in a lower form? Did he have a partner? Questions abounded, but the two Tamers didn't appear to be interested in pursuing any of them.

"Let's go," she said, pushing away from the wall and following after the two children. Sora was quick to join them, as was Biyomon, though the pink bird kept a watchful eye on Impmon, who stood there, shaking his fists at them.

_Renamon was right!_ Impmon thought gleefully. _they won't fight!_ Grinning, his eyes narrowed. _Well here's my chance to blast some sense into him…_

As though he sensed Impmon's intentions, Terriermon craned his head over his shoulder and looked at the dark-colored Rookie thoughtfully.

"Terriermon, don't touch him," Henry warned, seeing his movement.

"I know…" the long-eared digimon huffed.

Taking this as confirmation, Impmon raised a gloved hand and a small, crimson fire lit up on his fingertip.

_"Bada-Boom!"_ he shouted, flinging it toward the group. At this, Gatomon and Biyomon spun around, ready for battle, but Terriermon was quicker. Rising into the air, he immediately began spinning like a top, and soon enough a blast of gale-force winds shot out at Impmon.

_"Terrier Tornado!"_

"Ah!" Impmon shouted, his mouth dropping open in surprise. _This wasn't part of the plan!_

The tornado caught the fireball and extinguished it before slamming into Impmon at full force, sending him careening out of the tree line, out of the park and toward the twin towers of the Shinjuku Government Building, where he disappeared in a twinkle of light.

Planting his feet back on the ground, Terriermon took a little bow.

"And that one is for the ladies…"

"Terriermon, what did I just tell you?" Henry asked, heaving a sigh.

Planting his tiny paws on his hips, he grinned at the boy. "I didn't actually touch him you know."

"You are incorrigible," Henry laughed, lightly tapping his fist on his partner's head.

**###**

Gold and orange burned the sky as Renamon sat atop a roof, watching the sunset peacefully, an act that she wished her heart could replicate so as to ease the trouble she felt. In her mind's eye, she could still see the hurt look Rika gave her before turning away, declaring that she didn't need _anybody._

The vulpine digimon felt…pain when she said that. Not a physical pain like she would from a fight, but something she couldn't touch or face. Much to her surprise, she _wanted_ to be close to Rika. Wanted to be there for her in her time of need; her times of trouble. To listen or defend her whenever she needed it. That Rika would reject it so soundly…

She lowered her head contemplatively, thinking on the other Tamers; the Digidestined and their partners.

_Their relationships are so different from mine and Rika's. I wonder… If I acted more human, would she accept me? Would she finally let me get close to her?_

That begged the question though; what did it mean to act more human? Was it the endless talk about random things that humans encountered in their day? Gossip about other people? Discussing stories? She knew how to fight and that was her only connection to the girl. She closed her eyes. None of those things were a part of her existence in the digital world. Well, it wasn't _exactly_ true. Human-made data was ever a part of the digital world's existence, but concepts like partnership and caring for someone… They were wholly alien to her and to the Nightmare Soldiers in general. They had no use for those things.

Except… She found that she did. She felt…more whole. More complete when she was with Rika. That she could be more than a program that existed only to fight and destroy.

_I've…never felt this way about anyone before,_ she thought, closing her eyes. _Kami… Why do I have to? I'm…not meant to…am I?_

No answer came to her as the sun continued to dip ever closer toward the horizon. As it did so, a thought came to her… A single line from a song she overheard Rika sing, once upon a time when she thought no one was listening.

_"You promised me we'd stay for the sunset…"_

**###**

Rika stalked through the subway station, eyes glaring ahead of her as she took in each person as they passed by her, half expecting one of them to do something. That they didn't, didn't make her feel any better. If anything, it only made her all the more tense. The waiting… The _curse_ of expectation. She knew that there was something… _someone_ following her. She didn't need to see it to know it was there.

Everything she heard today; everything she felt more than pointed in that direction. What else could it be after all?

_I don't know when or where it'll come,_ she thought. _I just wish it would show up so I fight it and get this over with._

As if on cue, a sharp, bitter wind blew over her and she stopped dead in her tracks. Hugging her arms close to her, she immediately began to shiver. Her breath came out in large, visible billows, and she had the distinct impression that there was _something_ directly behind her, descending toward her.

Closer… Closer…

_"What do you want?!"_ Rika demanded, spinning around. At once, the cold wind vanished and warmth washed over her. Behind her was not a digimon, as she had been expecting, but instead two men wearing suits, looking at her in bewilderment at her sudden reaction to them.

"Uh…" began one.

"Nothing," finished another.

Gripping her hands tightly together, she glared at each of them in turn before catching sight of a ghostly figure floating up a stairwell.

_Is it_ toying _with me?!_ she wondered angrily. She hated this. She hated the waiting and the feeling that there was always someone stalking her.

No more.

Eager to get this over, she broke past the two adults.

"Get out of the way!" she shouted, launching herself at the stairwell, much to the two men's continued confusion. She quickly tore up the stairs before coming to a dead halt after two flights. She stood there, breathing heavily as anger pulsed through her veins. She saw and heard…nothing. There was nothing save for the golden light of the setting sun, sitting just beyond her vision.

Yet a part of her _knew_ it was there, just beyond her ability to see.

"Hey! I saw you, you creep! Now come out!"

When she received no answer, she began to back up, if only to have something at her back so as to keep from being taken off guard. Having the wall touch her shoulder blades felt…comforting after a fashion and she felt her body sag against it, tense, but eager for rest. Pulling her hand to her chest, she fought to catch her breath as the full weight of the day came crashing down on her.

_Over… I just want this to be over with…_ She wanted to rest. To sleep and forget that today ever happened at all.

How could she though? She wasn't even safe in her own home.

_Renamon…_ she thought, curling her fingers into the palm of her hands, and she gasped again, this time remembering the kitsune's hurt expression when she had yelled at her earlier. She…

She had only a second of her mind screaming danger at her when two, ice-cold arms shot out from the wall behind her and clamped around her tightly. She felt the cold bite into her skin and through her clothes. Terror exploded from her and she screamed, not caring who heard, but the hands of the digimon, massive and clawed, covered her mouth, muffling her. She struggled and bit back, but the only response she got was a rising laugh and a cold mist swirling around her.

The world faded to black before being replaced by something else, but only the cold remained through it all.

**###**

Mimi's bags hit the floor as her hands flew to her mouth. Below, in the stairs of the subway tunnels they saw a girl – Rika – trapped within the grasp of a pair of disturbingly familiar arms, fog rising around her.

"Palmon!" she shouted, but the plant-digimon was already moving, rushing down the stairs as she threw her arm back and then flung it forward. Her vine-like claws extended like a long rope, reaching through the fog, only to come back empty. The fog rose and dissipated, revealing nothing where once Rika and the arms had been.

"What…?" Mimi whispered in horror before rushing down the stairs.

"Mimi!" Palmon gaped, chasing after her. "W-Wait! It's not safe!"

The brown-haired woman wasn't listening. She crashed to a halt against the wall, her hands hurriedly pouring over its surface, searching for some kind of hidden button that would reveal some kind of secret entrance that Rika had been taken through.

"Mimi!" Palmon cried insistently, grabbing hold of her partner's skirt and tugging urgently. "Stop! She's gone! We have to call Sora and let her know what happened!"

"Ah…!" Mimi staggered back, chest heaving as she forced herself to calm down. _Right… Palmon's right. We're dealing with a digimon here. He can probably teleport himself anywhere he wants or something._

Her face knotted up into a ferocious expression.

_Wish Devimon-digimon would just teleport themselves into the center of the Earth and save us the trouble…_ she thought darkly. Pulling out her cell phone she quickly dialed Sora's number. It buzzed only once before her best friend picked up on the other end.

_"Mimi? What's…?"_

"Sora, there's no time! That IceDevimon you were talking about earlier? It just now kidnapped Rika! We've got to find her!"


	53. Episode 10:  Ice Cracks

Yolei splashed water on her face and took a deep, shuddering breath to steady herself. As she did so, a hand holding a paper towel drew into her view. Blinking, she turned to find Tally standing by her side, a worried smile on her face. Nodding, she took the towel and began to dry her face off.

"How're you holding up?" she asked as Yolei sniffed. Her eyes were red, signaling that she had been crying, but she had managed to keep it quiet. Despite everything, she still had a job to do, and she didn't want Takeru to have a reason to get rid of her, no matter how tempting it was to just leave Hypnos, grab Hawkmon and go hunt down the bastard that attacked her husband's agency.

"Fine," she said dully, yet her grip on the towel tightened. Tally tilted her head at her.

"So why do you look like you want to murder someone?"

Yolei crumpled the towel and threw it in the dispenser to the side. Sniffing again, she turned to face Tally more fully.

"Tally, I say 'fine' because that's what I have to be right now. Because if I'm not, worse things could happen." She narrowed her eyes, continuing. "But yeah, if I'm honest, I want to go out and delete whatever digimon went after my husband. You don't know how many times I came close to losing him over the years. Most of the time because he's as stupid acting as his friend, Davis, but a lot of the time…"

She thought back to during the war, when they used the Digi-egg of Kindness to make a seal against the Forces of Darkness. _Oh, how badly they wanted him dead then…_

"Anyway, I'm sticking it out, as hard as it might be." She turned away and looked at herself in the mirror. _God I look like a mess…_ she thought.

"All right," Tally replied in acceptance. "But if you need to talk…"

"Thanks," Yolei replied, not looking at the other woman. "I'll keep you in mind."

Tally stood there for a moment longer before finally turning to leave. Yolei hung her head, allowing her bangs to hide her face. She hated feeling like she had been cross with the other woman. Tally was a good person; very well-meaning, if a bit childish at times. Being rude to her was liken to kicking a puppy.

_I'll have to apologize later,_ she thought, looking back up and brushing the hair out of her eyes. _All right, Yolei. Get your head back into the game. We've got to find that digimon, but how? His digivice signal disappeared from off our scanners. Same for Davis._

Her heart thumped painfully in distress, fearing the worst. Could they have been killed by the digimon? They were no doubt caught unawares after all and some digimon were fast enough to get their attack in before digivolution could be completed…

Yolei ground her teeth together. The frustration! She _desperately_ wanted to run home and get Hawkmon into the air to find the bastard! She couldn't though.

Swallowing, Yolei composed herself.

_If I do, who knows what Takeru will do next? He's already unstable enough as it is, and if I leave, he might replace me with someone who won't look closely or knows him well enough to at least try to keep him in line. Otherwise…he might blow up the world…_

Having finished venting, Yolei went back to work.

**###**

_Rika… Kidnapped…_

Takato let that thought sink in as Sora finished telling them everything Mimi had told her. He felt…shock and surprise at it, coupled with a sick horror that Sora and Kari's worst fears about the digimon – now confirmed to be an IceDevimon – were founded.

_Can't be…_ a part of him recoiled, thinking back. Thinking back to the dream he first saw her in, and all the times they fought or whenever he saw her fight against an opponent. _I mean, yeah, it's an IceDevimon, but still… She's…so strong…_

"Takato?"

Looking up, Takato blinked in surprise, realizing that his attention had gotten lost in his thoughts.

"Sorry," he said. "W-What's going on?"

"We're going to search the skies for our mysterious digimon," Gatomon said, placing her hands on her hips while eyeing a claw. "You two are to go home."

"Go home?" Takato's eyes shot up in surprise. "But…But we can help!" He looked over at Henry for help, but the boy closed his eyes, not saying a word.

"Shouldn't we be helping actually?" Terriermon asked for him, clambering up onto his partner's shoulders with his long, hand-like ears. "Our digivices are pretty good at spotting rogue digimon and stuff…"

"I'm afraid it has more to do with your experience," Kari interrupted. "I'm sorry, but Rika and Renamon have more than you, and if IceDevimon was able to defeat them…" She cast a worried look at Sora, both of them wondering if Renamon had been deleted. "…then that makes this digimon an extreme threat to you. The both of you. And as your teacher, I can't allow it."

Takato scowled and looked away, not agreeing with this line of thought. He wasn't sure how he felt about Rika, given her obvious dislike toward him, but that didn't mean he should just walk away. She was a Tamer, like it or not.

_I should be out there doing everything I can to find her… Just…Just like I did with Guilmon._

An image came to mind of her following after him as he went down into the tunnels and he drew his hands into fists.

"Ms. Kamiya…" he began, only to be met again by another shake of his teacher's head.

"I'm sorry, Takato. But I can't allow this. Please, the both of you, go home." She looked at both boy sternly, her tone brooking no argument. Neither boy nor any of their digimon offered none, so she nodded her head after a moment of silence from them.

Turning to her partner, she drew out her digivice. There was a flash of light and soon Nefertimon had taken Gatomon's place. The two girls quickly climbed onto the Armored digimon's back and with a flap of her wings, they rose into the air, quickly followed by Biyomon.

"Stay safe!" Kari called as they flew away, leaving the quartet alone in the park. Henry turned to Takato, opening his mouth to speak, only to stop when he saw the determined look in the other boy's eyes.

"Takato…" he began after a moment's hesitation.

"I'm going to find her," Takato interrupted, his partner drawing up beside him. Raising his hand, he placed a hand on Guilmon's head, stroking it softly. "I owe it to her for helping out, and…I don't know. I know she doesn't like me or anything, but…she was there when it counted. And…" He trailed off, fighting for the words. To say 'it was the right thing to do' didn't feel like it accurately described how he felt as to why he was doing this. Every fiber in his being rose up against just going home and sitting this fight out. In spite of her antagonism toward him still being fresh in his mind, he couldn't just abandon her. "You don't have to come with me…either of you."

"I'll go with you," Guilmon chirped, nuzzling his face against the boy's side. "Whatever you want is what I want to do too."

"Thanks boy," Takato smiled before turning to Henry expectantly. Terriermon did likewise.

"Henry?" the long-eared digimon asked.

Henry closed his eyes again.

"I'll go with you guys," he said finally before opening his eyes once more. He smiled in resignation. He didn't want to fight again, but he recognized that he couldn't sit this one out either. "Someone's got to keep you out of trouble after all."

"All right!" Takato crowed happily, pumping one fist into the air triumphantly. He felt a great sense of relief. While he would have gone ahead anyway, with or without help, he felt considerably better with someone by his side.

"So what's the plan?" Terriermon asked, changing shoulders.

"Uh… Well…I was thinking about using our digivices since they can track digimon…" Takato began, pulling his out from his pocket and activating the compass function. He frowned at the holographic circle as it swung around wildly. "I still can't figure out how this thing is supposed to work though…"

"I'm pretty sure whoever made these things wanted to make them as inconvenient as possible," Terriermon giggled as Henry withdrew his and tapped the center button. At once, the same holographic circle rose up from his digivice's screen. The compass swung around before finally settling on the direction of the sun as it finally vanished behind the horizon, drowning the city in the shadow of night.

"That looks like as good a direction as any to start," Henry said. With that, the group rushed off in the direction pointed.

**###**

Rika's eyes opened to a mixture of shadow and blue ice. The first thing she noticed was how horribly cold it was, and she quickly climbed to her feet, wrapping her arms around herself. It was no good though. Outside, the weather was warm, spring having given away to the warmth of June, and as such her clothes weren't suited for the bitter temperature she was suddenly in.

"It's so cold…" she chattered, her violet eyes panning about as she searched for an exit. At the moment, she couldn't find any, as nothing but darkness lay about her. She took a step forward and nearly slipped as she did so. The ice was so smooth…

Behind her, there was the sound of something gliding on the slick surface, and then suddenly, with a gust of cold wind, a pair of frost-covered, tattered wings wrapped themselves around her. Powerful hands gripped her and she rose into the air. She gasped in surprise and looked up to find a pair of blood-red eyes staring back at her, a small smile underneath them, displaying gleaming, vampire-like fangs.

"Welcome to my humble abode," IceDevimon greeted.

"Are you…a digimon?" Rika asked, surprised at the question. Her mind was starting to feel…odd. Tired. Something about his eyes…or maybe it was the cold…was drawing on her. She felt as though a fog had risen up in her mind, clouding her thoughts.

"Yes," IceDevimon confirmed, his wings rubbing against each other as they drew tighter around her. Rika shivered, yet, in spite of herself, she felt…warmer.

"So this is a digital field?" she asked again.

"Exactly," IceDevimon almost purred. Oh, how he had waited so long for this moment. To finally have this girl in her grasp… His smile grew as he caressed a claw along her arm. "Beautiful, isn't it? It suits you perfectly."

"It suits me?" Rika looked up, confused at the statement. The haze was settling in more heavily now. Her thoughts felt slow…sluggish. Like she was now staggering about in nothingness.

"The way you treat people," IceDevimon replied. "How you think you're cold as ice. You have no time for weak relationships."

"Yes…" Rika nodded. Yes, that…sounded like her. In her mind's eye, she saw her disdain for Takato and his insufferable, carefree warmth for his partner. She saw Renamon always trying to get closer to her…to be her _friend_ when all she wanted was…a what?

_"We're partners…"_ whispered the vulpine's voice, but Rika brushed the thought away. It sounded so foolish… So idiotic. Like a child's dream.

"You always expect perfection from yourself and others," IceDevimon continued. "You _demand it!"_

Rika slowly nodded, her eyes becoming empty and unseeing. There was no point to trying to see, when all there was about her was ice and shadow.

_What good is a partner…or friends who only drag you down? Who leave you behind?_

"I'm the _only_ one who understands you, Rika." IceDevimon's wings drew even tighter around her. _"That_ is why we're destined to become partners."

In the fog, a light appeared, and Rika drew her face up in confusion.

"Partners… Us?" Something about that…felt wrong.

"Yes…" IceDevimon said, drawing the word out like a hiss.

"No… I can't," Rika protested quietly. "I…I…already have a partner."

Her eyes clearing a little, she turned to look around her once more, expecting…expecting…

"Renamon…" she whispered. Through their link, she felt something. A ripple, but as yet, the vulpine digimon didn't appear when she called.

_"I don't need you… I don't need_ anybody…"

The ghost of the memory whispered in the depths of her mind, and Rika felt a part of her cry out at it.

_I…said that?_ she wondered, feeling pain tear at her heart. She hurt her partner, didn't she? With those words, she hurt her…

_"Rika…"_ she could have sworn she heard Renamon say from the other end of their bond, but it was gone like a leaf on an autumn wind.

"What have I done?" she asked herself, touching her digivice. IceDevimon's massive hand reached down and covered it in response, the ice demon digimon frowning slightly. He sensed the bond between them, still as strong as ever in spite of everything that happened between them.

"I want to show you something," he said, hoping to distract her thoughts from her 'partner'.

"What is it?"

IceDevimon's wings quivered in excitement.

"To prove I am worthy of being your partner, I've set up a little show and tell, so you can see my power for yourself."

Raising his wings, light bloomed throughout the digital field. Looking up, Rika gasped. Icicles hung from the ceiling, and within them were numerous digimon, trapped within, looks of absolute horror and pain frozen in place, a macabre array of past victories.

The _glory_ of _his_ victories.

Rika was shivering again, but this time it was not because of the cold.

**###**

Calumon stared in awe at the sight of the ice-capped building, eyes wide in wonder. It had just appeared from out of _nowhere,_ and so suddenly at that! Turning, he saw a group of familiar faces running down the sidewalk, and a smile lit up on his own as he saw that Takato and Guilmon were among them.

"Hey guys, what're you doing?" he called out as they ran under him, taking no notice as they were too preoccupied with the frozen fortress before them. Turning in midair, he pouted for a moment before flying after them. "Wait for me!"

**###**

"For years I have hunted hundreds of digimon and absorbed their data," IceDevimon gloated, thinking back fondly upon those battles and how, in the end, each of them had begged to live as he prepared to deliver the killing blow. "They were friends to some. Others were partners."

Another light bloomed into existence, revealing more icicles. Four more to be precise, only two of them contained two disturbingly human shapes. Rika jerked in IceDevimon's grasp as she recognized them instantly, her heart all but driving to a halt at the rictus looks of intense pain they were in, as though the ice around them were _burning_ them.

"Not even the strongest of the Digidestined could stop me," he continued. "These four are the prize of my collection. Soon, I will absorb them too. It is the way of things. After all…as you once said, they are merely stepping stones."

Rika looked on in utter horror as the shakes in her body only increased in intensity. "I never said that!"

"Ah, but you did," IceDevimon countered. "I fight to digivolve. You make your digimon do the exact same thing."

"No!" Rika protested as the utter, crushing weight of her actions dispelled the fog that enveloped her mind. "I couldn't see it before but there's more to digimon than fighting!" Closing her eyes, she looked away, feeling utter loathing at herself for not realizing what she was doing sooner. "I'd eat _dirt_ before I _ever_ let Renamon become what you are! A monster…"

"Better a powerful monster than a…weak nobody." IceDevimon grinned. "Is that what you really want? To be a nobody?"

"I'll tell you what I _don't_ want to be!" Rika growled, struggling against IceDevimon's grasp. "The partner of some _freak show_ digimon!"

Abruptly bursting out of IceDevimon's arms, she landed on the slick ice and spun around, catching herself before she could fall. She turned a baleful gaze up at IceDevimon, throwing all the venom and hate she felt toward him. "You think you know everything about who I really am? Well you _don't!_ Spit it out, horn head! What do you want?"

"Ahhh…" IceDevimon took a deep breath and held it for a moment, as though he were savoring the taste of the air now that he was being confronted by the fiery-haired girl. "You have no idea how exquisite you are when you're angry. I've been searching so long… _waiting_ so long…for someone like you; with a heart of ice and a will of stone, and now my search is over."

Leaning forward, his red eyes widened in excitement. "I want _you_ to be my Tamer!"

Rika drew back, repulsed. "In your _dreams_ pal!"

IceDevimon's hand shot out and snatched hold of her by the arm. Rika struggled, pulling against his grip, but this time he held firm, not budging an inch against her strength.

"Don't play hard to get. You want to be the strongest Digimon Tamer. I want to be the strongest digimon. We're perfect for each other."

"Never!" Rika snapped, causing IceDevimon to chuckle in amusement.

"Are you thinking of that _pitiful_ excuse of a digimon of yours? That… _Renamon?"_

IceDevimon released Rika, and she nearly fell again as she slid on the ice. He smirked at her ignorance.

"She is not who you think she is. You have no idea, do you? Of course not. Why would she tell you? She and I competed to be your partner you know, but she was chosen over me by our lord and master. I…the stronger of the two." His eyes narrowed. "You were made to settle for second best, and she's been nothing but a disappointment to you. I promise to not be one in her place."

"W-Wha…?" Rika blinked, her hand hesitating on her digivice, not understanding what he was talking about. "You and Renamon… You…know each other?"

"The Darkness sees great potential in you, Rika," IceDevimon continued. "But if you don't trust me, summon her. Summon her and then you'll see the truth of why she is your partner."

His smirk grew wider, seeing the hesitation in the girl's eyes.

"I will never lie to you Rika. Call her. Call her and I will prove myself as the superior digimon in word as well as strength."

Rika tightened her grip on her digivice. She didn't understand what this IceDevimon was talking about. _Refused_ to believe him in fact.

Her heart quavered, not wanting to believe it, not wanting her fears being confirmed. That she…didn't matter to Renamon.

IceDevimon saw all this in her eyes, and raised a hand to his forehead.

"Then I'll just have to call her myself," he said icily. "You'll see the truth and get a live demonstration of my strength. No longer will you tame the beauty…when you can tame the _beast."_

With that, light burst forth from his head and shot up through the digital field and out into the night sky.


	54. Episode 10: Cold Darkness

_Rika…_ Sora thought as she held onto Kari. The wind blew at her face, causing strands of hair, brown and copper, to tickle her eyes. Looking away, the woman blinked, trying to keep an eye out for something…anything that could help them find the red-haired Tamer.

"Anything?" she asked after a minute as Kari shifted against her.

"Nothing," she said, looking at her digivice. "There's no digital field that I can see so far that we can pick up. No activity."

The Digidestined of Light sighed. Their digivices were so antiquated these days. Izzy had managed to upgrade them a bit over the years, but there was only so much he could do to them, especially the original models. The technology was just too…primitive nowadays.

_It's like we're from some kind of digital Dark Age,"_ Kari thought forlornly, scanning the city. "Nefertimon? Can you sense anything?"

"Nothing yet," the Egyptian cat digimon said, extending her senses as far as they could go. "This IceDevimon must be very good at hiding himself."

"Maybe we should get a hold of Takeru," Biyomon suggested, flying in close. "I'm not having any luck either and he's the one who has everything that could track the digimon down."

"Maybe…" Kari began doubtfully. Her encounters with Takeru had not been the least bit encouraging. He greeted them all so coldly these days. It was almost as though their adventures and the bond they formed from them simply never happened. There were times where she wondered if she had wandered into an alternate dimension following her escape from the Dark Ocean.

_At least digimon and humans didn't exchange skin,_ she thought distractedly.

"There!"

Kari started at Sora's call. Turning, she looked around frantically. "Where?" she asked. "What did you see?"

She caught sight of something bright rising into the air, but it looked to be almost gone. However, below it there appeared to be _something,_ but what she couldn't be certain. Night had fallen over the city, obscuring the landscape in shadow.

"There," Sora said. "You're looking in the right direction. I saw a bright light come from a building and there was a cloud beneath it. A digital field. I'm sure of it."

"We didn't pick it up on our digivices," Kari said, narrowing her eyes. "Well… Either way, we're going to investigate. It's our first lead so far and we can't afford to ignore it. Nefertimon?"

"I'm on it," the Egyptian cat digimon said, banking to the left as she changed course, followed closely by Biyomon.

**###**

_Renamon…knows this creep?_

The thought whispered through Rika's mind as she shivered. She shook her head, clutching at its sides.

_No! It has to be a lie! He's trying to mess with my head. Sure, Renamon was only interested in what I could give her, but so was I? That doesn't mean she…she…works for the Darkness! Not her!_

The Darkness. The name invoked so much fear in Japan and indeed even the world. It brought to mind images of the Seven Great Demon Lords as they waged their war on the world; of Lucemon, laughing amidst a city-wide fire, his Digital Hazard glowing brightly; of Dagomon and the flood of shadowy creatures that sought to extinguish all light in the world.

Digimon that followed them were supposed to be like…like IceDevimon or…or Lucemon. Even _Guilmon_ should have been more likely to be drawn to the darkness than Renamon! He was a Virus-type after all, and he bore the mark of the Digital Hazard.

Renamon was a kitsune. She was a data type. Viruses were her natural enemy.

_There's no way she would work with someone like this,_ she thought, beginning to edge her way toward the only exit she could see in this frozen wasteland. Seeing this, IceDevimon's hand shot out and grabbed hold of her arm once again.

"Ah, ah…" he clicked at her. "No trying to escape. You'll miss the show. Don't you want to learn the truth?"

"I _won't_ let Renamon fight you!" she growled, tugging against his grasp until the bones in her arm creaked. Grabbing hold of her by her second arm, IceDevimon rose into the air, lifting the girl with him.

"She will, and _you_ will see the truth for what it is. I promised honesty, and you shall have it, which is more than what your _partner_ is willing to give you."

A cruel smirk drew across his face as Rika continued to struggle to no avail.

"It must be so hard, to be cast aside so often… To know there is no one who actually cares about you…"

Rika gasped at that and paused in her struggle, but only for a moment before resuming even more fiercely than before.

"Let… _go_ of me!" she said, kicking at the fallen angel's shins as the sound of a door opening filled the room.

**###**

Takato panted as he, Henry and Guilmon ran up the stairs toward the site of the digital field in question, a part of him wishing that they had taken an elevator, but he had an idea that it wouldn't have worked out for numerous reasons, chief of which was due to the presence of their digimon. They moved as quickly as they could, and the goggle-wearing boy found that the urgency of the situation lent a certain stamina to his movements that allowed him to shrug off his exhaustion…for the most part.

"Are you okay, Takato?" Henry asked as the boy grabbed hold of the railing once they reached the doors that led to the final floor where, hopefully, they would find Rika and the digimon that captured her. Breathing heavily with beads of sweat crawling down his face, Takato leaned against the railing for a moment and looked at him, amazed that the half-Chinese Tamer didn't appear the least bit out of breath.

"Yeah," he nodded before pushing himself away from the railing. His legs shook but he forced them to keep firm.

"Ready Guilmon?" he asked. The crimson dinosaur nodded exuberantly.

"Yeah!"

"Okay…" Takato took a deep breath and lowered his goggles over his eyes. "This is it. Does anyone have any bright ideas?"

"Just one," Henry said after looking at Takato worriedly for a second. Taking out his sunglasses, he put them on. "Let's try not to get ourselves creamed."

Stepping forward, the doors slid open automatically and they were suddenly blasted by a stream of ice cold air, nearly causing Takato to wrap his arms around himself reflexively.

"Who left the freezer on?" he asked sarcastically, forcing his arms to keep at his side while they all looked around them. Ice covered the roof everywhere they looked, though it wasn't necessarily one solid block.

_It's kind of like an igloo actually,_ he thought, pushing his goggles back up onto his head. _Only it's made entirely of ice. But…where's Rika?_

"Look!" Henry exclaimed, pointing suddenly ahead of them as he answered his unspoken question. "It's Rika!"

Sure enough, floating in midair, was the girl in question, IceDevimon grappling her with his massive hands. Leaning forward atop Guilmon's head, Terriermon narrowed his eyes, transferring data to Henry's digivice as its holographic circle rose above its screen.

"IceDevimon for sure…" he breathed in confirmation as the demon's head snapped up at them. "A Champion level, Fallen Angel digimon!"

"And I thought you didn't have any friends," IceDevimon mocked as Rika looked over at them in surprise, having not expected these two to show up as she remembered that they preferred avoiding fights.

"Let her go _now!"_ Takato shouted angrily, his hands curling into fists while Guilmon got into a low crouch next to him. IceDevimon chuckled at the boy's display and pulled Rika back in false tenderness.

"My Tamer and I were just getting acquainted…" he began, looking as though he were being needlessly harassed by the two Tamers. No one was buying it though, least of all Takato, who only grew angrier and was quick to cut him off.

"She's _not_ your Tamer! Rika has Renamon!"

_Renamon…_ Rika felt her heart crack at the name, remembering the hurt expression on her partner's face. Clutching at Rika all the more tightly, IceDevimon bent down toward her possessively.

_"I_ think it's time for a little upgrade, don't you?" he asked her, causing the girl to squirm again, recoiling at him.

"Let me go you frozen freak!" she snapped angrily.

"What do we do?" Takato asked, looking at Henry helplessly. With IceDevimon holding her the way he was, it would be difficult to attack him without hurting her by accident.

"This is _not_ going to be easy," Henry said, frowning in concentration. "He's much stronger than any digimon we've ever defeated before!" He turned toward their partners. "What we really need is an effective strategy to deal with him!"

"Like a kick in the pants!" Terriermon nodded, hopping down from Guilmon's head, getting ready to fight.

"I _wish_ it were that easy…" Henry replied, turning back to observe the situation, but so far nothing was coming to him. That did not sit well with Takato. Seeing that _some_ action was needed, he straightened up and took out his digivice.

"Ready Guilmon?"

With a nod, the crimson dinosaur stepped forward.

"Go get him!"

"Ready, set and _go!"_

Guilmon dove forward, running over the ice with ease. Henry moved to stop him, but hesitated, realizing that they had little choice by this point. They couldn't use ranged attacks until IceDevimon let go of Rika and they didn't have the luxury of just standing around and coming up with a plan, not while IceDevimon could attack them at his leisure. They _had_ to close the distance first and foremost.

"Here's your chance, Terriermon!"

"It's about time!"

With that, the long-eared rabbit-dog digimon shot after Guilmon, the two easily keeping pace with each other as they closed in on their target.

"Goody, goody, time to fight," IceDevimon chortled, his eyes glowing with a deep, azure light. Turning toward them, a cone of ice cold blasted out of his eyes and struck the two oncoming digimon. Within seconds, the two were frozen in place, a block of ice surrounding them.

"Guilmon, no!" Takato shouted as Henry joined his exclamations of horror. Only seconds into the fight and they were already out of action!

_This is bad! This is_ very _bad!_

_My fault…_ Rika thought as IceDevimon laughed at his swift victory, feeling sick all of a sudden at seeing the two digimon frozen solid like that, joining the multitude of that already hung from the ceiling. A part of her realized that she was even _more_ responsible for this, as she had been asked to train the two and she…didn't. She had shrugged it off and lambasted Takato for his lack of experience.

_If…If I had done something back then…would they even be in this situation?_

Her eye caught movement atop the entrance that Takato and Henry emerged from. Calumon had arrived, and his ears were shrinking into his head.

"This doesn't look good… Not good at all!" she heard him say and her breath caught in her throat.

_Everyone's going to die…because of me!_

The roof exploded suddenly as a Rosetta Stone crashed through. As a cloud of ice particles began to settle, everyone looked up to find Nefertimon coming in for a landing alongside Biyomon.

"Ms. Kamiya!" Takato exclaimed as Rika blinked in surprise upon seeing Sora and Biyomon with them.

"Rika!" Sora shouted, hopping off Nefertimon as the digimon reverse-digivolved back to Gatomon, her digi-egg returning to Kari's D-Terminal. "Let her go _now!"_

IceDevimon smirked at the copper-haired woman's fire.

"Good. More data to consume," he said gleefully. At that, Rika balked and resumed her struggles, twisting against his grip, ignoring the pain from her arms as they threatened to break within IceDevimon's powerful grasp.

"No!" she shouted. "Not them! Not _them!"_

"I promised you a live demonstration of my powers," IceDevimon chuckled, his claws gleaming. "My _worth_ to you as your partner. What better way to do that than to defeat the famous Digidestined?"

"Partner?" Sora blinked before shaking her head. "Never mind. Whatever's going on, it ends right here. You have a second to let Rika go before I burn this whole place down."

Lifting her digivice, its screen began to glow. Straight digivolving to Champion was out of the question for her partner due to the size restrictions of this ice cavern, but Flash Digivolution would more than suffice as it would briefly allow Biyomon access to her Champion form's power.

IceDevimon gazed at the woman with what could only be described as amusement.

"Your threat is amusing but I have no intention of…" he began, only for Sora to interrupt with one word.

_"One,"_ she counted, glaring venomously at the fallen angel digimon, and at once light burst forth, illuminating the cavern of ice. Great burning wings, ghostly in appearance, spread forth from Biyomon's body, shattering icicles and sending dead digimon data floating through the air. Seemingly unconcerned with this display of power, IceDevimon turned to angle his body at her and with a powerful flap of wings, a storm of razor sharp icicles shielded by frigid air surged toward her.

_"Avalanche Claw!"_ he shouted. In response, Biyomon flapped her burning wings, destroying most of IceDevimon's attack, however one managed to get through, spearing through her still Rookie-level wing-arm. Data flew free and the bird-digimon cried out in pain, falling backward to the ground as her free wing clutched at the wound.

_"No!"_ Rika shouted, trying to break free and this time nearly succeeding. IceDevimon tightened his grip on her. _"Biyomon!"_

Takato looked on helplessly as the battle progressed. Things were definitely not looking good at all. Gatomon was their last chance, and if _she_ went down…

"We've got to get them out of there!" Takato shouted. Looking around, he quickly spied a cinder block. Ripping it free from the frozen ground, ignoring the ice that burned his hands, he raced over to Guilmon and Terriermon and slammed it down on the block that surrounded them. Henry was quick to join him, but their efforts didn't seem to be doing anything.

"This ice is too strong!" he exclaimed, looking over at IceDevimon fearfully.

"I hear one becomes quite warm just before the freezing," the demonic digimon laughed as Gatomon and Kari stepped in front of them protectively. Kari readied her digivice, light already emerging from its screen. Seeing this, IceDevimon began to pull the data floating in the air around him. His strength began to grow and he smirked confidently.

"Ah, ah, ah…" he said, shaking a claw at the Digidestined of Light. "If you digivolve, I'm afraid I'm going to have to take action and destroy your friends."

Indicating a spot behind him, he turned his claw over toward four particular icicles and at once Kari and Gatomon gasped.

_"Davis!_ Ken!Veemon and Wormmon…" The light in her digivice died as she glared at their enemy. "You're sick… Let them go!"

"Why should I?" IceDevimon asked. "Because you said so? Please. I am of the Darkness, oh _Queen of Light._ I don't intend to play any games with you. It's a delete or be deleted world out there. And you…are deleted."

Blue light shone in his eyes before shooting out as a cone of cold. Spinning on a dime, Gatomon lunged at Kari and knocked her out of the way before being frozen solid.

"Gatomon!" Sora shouted, looking up from where she sat next to Biyomon, trying to comfort her as she struggled to get up. The pink-bird digimon was shivering, the toxic cold rapidly spreading from her injury and worming its way through her small body.

"You demented freak!" Rika shouted, still straining to escape. "You can't do anything without hiding behind someone can you?!"

IceDevimon looked down at the red-haired girl, his expression a portrait of smug superiority.

"There is only _one_ rule in a fight," he told her. _"By any means necessary._ I intend to fight and I intend to win. How I do it is of little to no consequence so long as I'm winning. And look…"

He threw a long, ghastly arm out to display the frozen field. "All of them are out of play. The Biyomon will be deleted soon. The Hazard digimon and the rabbit are both frozen, alongside Myotismon's former servant. As are the components to the paladin dragon. They are easy pickings now. Renamon would never have achieved this victory. I _am_ the _superior_ digimon. Accept it!"

With his freed hand, he grabbed hold of Rika's face and pulled her toward him. A cloud of breath emerged from his mouth as he grinned.

"Accept _me!"_

"N-Never!" Rika choked out.

"That's so twisted it's scary…"

Over at the frozen block, Henry glared at IceDevimon's back. There _had_ to be a way out of this!

_Maybe…_

Taking a cue from Biyomon, he dug into his pocket and withdrew a digimon card that of a man-like figure covered from head to toe in roaring flames – a Meramon. He quickly slashed it through his digivice's card slot.

_"Digi-modify! Heat activate!"_

A dull, red glow surrounded Terriermon's body, only for it to vanish almost as quickly as it came. Gasping in shock, Henry clutched at the ice, searching it with his fingers while Takato continued to hammer away.

_Nothing! It doesn't feel the least bit warm at all!_ He turned to look at Rika, a thought occurring to him. IceDevimon so far hadn't gone all out against them. Simply removing pieces from the chess board, but not destroying them. It…almost seemed like he was conserving his energy. _Waiting_ for someone.

_All this talk about being Rika's partner…_

The light bulb clicked on.

"I don't get it!" he called out to her. "Where's Renamon?"

Laughing, IceDevimon looked down at Rika and the girl, suddenly feeling ashamed, looked away.

"Renamon's gone…" she said in a low voice, sorrow clutching at her chest. _My fault… This is all my fault… Everyone… Because of me…_

_"I don't need you… I don't need anybody."_

_Oh Renamon… I'm so sorry…_

"Even if I called her…she wouldn't come."

Takato ceased in his striking of the ice prison around their digimon and looked up at Rika, not understanding.

"But Rika, why not?"

Sora looked at the girl sadly as she took off her jacket and wrapped Biyomon up in it. The icicle remained, but with the wound so deadly serious, she was afraid to tear it free, lest her partner bleed data uncontrollably.

_Rika… What happened?_

"Come on, Rika, fess up," chided IceDevimon, rocking her roughly like a rag doll. "Did you two have a fight? Just proves she's too weak to handle a special Tamer like you!"

_Weak? What does this jerk know about Renamon?!_

Snarling, Rika broke free, but IceDevimon wasn't done talking.

"You need a partner who understands you. Who _appreciates_ you and who craves your cold strength." He threw his hands up toward the ceiling, toward the frozen digimon imprisoned within.

_"Embrace the future I offer you!"_

Rika gasped at the macabre sight and looked away, shivering uncontrollably now, and not from the cold. All she could see was the darkness offered and every fiber of her being recoiled at the mere thought of it.

In that moment, she said one word, a name, calling out to it like a talisman.

_"Renamon…"_

The ceiling exploded with glowing shards of light and a shadowy figure emerged from the cloud of ice, golden-furred with purple-arm guards. The vulpine digimon turned a baleful gaze at her opponent.

"IceDevimon," she began in a dark tone. "This ends here."


	55. Episode 10: A Thousand Shards of Broken Ice

Biyomon moaned softly, her eyes fluttering open as a gust of warm air – faint though it was – caressed her face feathers gently. She tried to sit up, but Sora's soft hands held her down.

"Don't move," Sora whispered. Biyomon shifted in protest beneath the girl's jacket, only to cringe as a knife of cold stabbed through her tiny body, causing her to shiver and her beak to clatter uncontrollably.

"S-S-Sora…"

"Hush…" Sora lifted her up into her arms and held her close, trying to keep her warm with her body. The bird digimon's head lolled to the side, and she spotted Rika and IceDevimon looking up toward the ceiling, where, in a cavernous hole, stood Renamon, azure eyes glaring daggers at the demonic digimon.

_Good…_ Biyomon thought with a small smile crossing her beak. _This fight's almost over…_

**###**

"I don't believe it…" Rika gasped upon sighting her partner. She hadn't thought she'd come, not after the way she treated her earlier.

"Get away from him, Rika," Renamon said, landing on the frozen floor and rising up from a kneeling position like a dagger being unsheathed.

"Renamon…" the girl whispered as IceDevimon crossed his long, skeletal arms over his chest, his claws draping down his sides.

"Yes, the _infamous_ Renamon. My… _partner in crime,_ as humans say. How nice to see you again."

"What…?" Sora turned a confused expression on the vulpine digimon, as did Takato, Henry and Kari. Renamon did not meet their looks, nor Rika's, focused as she was on IceDevimon.

"Partner…" Takato asked aloud, his cinder block _clinking_ softly against the ice as he lowered it down. "What's he talking about Renamon?"

"The best kept secret, Hazard Tamer," IceDevimon grinned, uncrossing his arms. "Renamon is one of the Nightmare Soldiers, just like I am. We served together, side by side, destroying countless digimon like yours, absorbing them and growing stronger. Our master…you've met him once before…was interested in our growing stronger. Digidestined were key to winning the war, so the idea came… Why not fight fire with fire? Rika was to be the first of a new breed of Nightmare Soldiers. The _Chosen_. Renamon was to reap the harvest…"

He narrowed his crimson eyes at the kitsune. "Only she failed in her mission. The task has fallen to me to complete her and become her partner so she may unleash her power."

"That… That's not true…" Takato said quietly, looking over to Rika, his eyes softening as he took in her expression. She looked as though she had just been kicked in the gut. _Betrayed._

Seething anger lit a fire in Takato's heart and he tightened his grip on the cinder block. "It's _not_ true!"

"Don't take my word for it," IceDevimon chuckled. "Why don't you ask the accused? How about it, Renamon? Am I lying?"

Renamon was silent for a moment, and it seemed as though everyone was holding their breath, awaiting her answer, silently begging for it to not be true.

"No," Renamon said finally, curling her claws into fists. "You're not."

"No…" Takato whispered as Sora stared at Renamon in stunned surprise. "No, it can't be!"

Rika's heart plunged into her stomach and she lowered her eyes. She saw nothing now, not even her reflection in the ice of the frozen rooftop. There was only…darkness.

_I didn't matter to her…_ she thought, her fists clenching. She swallowed. Her throat felt hot, like a jungle, and it hurt. Tears stung at the corners of her eyes, only to freeze as they began to creep down her face.

_But…that's how it was supposed to be…wasn't it? We were both just using each other. She could take me to the digital world if she digivolved, and I could make her digivolve. That's all…either of us wanted._

_All either of us…wanted… But…not…_

She repressed a harsh gasp and looked up to find Renamon falling into a combat stance, her tail slashing to the side. IceDevimon tilted his head to one side.

"Are you _seriously_ thinking about challenging me?" he mocked. "Rika has already rejected you. She won't give you her power anymore."

"That doesn't matter," Renamon declared, closing her eyes. She knew this would happen as soon as Rika found out. She supposed she knew it all along, but had merely been running from the knowledge. She opened her eyes once more and narrowed them on IceDevimon. "You on the other hand do matter. You will bring nothing but darkness and cold into her world; take her smiles and her joy and turn them into fear and anger. She will be with you, but she will be alone."

_"I_ am the only one who understands her," IceDevimon grated, stepping toward her. "Not that you understand. You lied to her willingly. She has no reason to trust you now. I on the other hand told her the truth."

Raising his claw, he smiled as it gleamed in the ghostly light of the frozen roof.

"I shall show her the rewards of my honesty and together we will reap the whirlwind. Now, I'd love to sit and chat longer, but it's time to destroy you."

Rika's eyes widened at that, her heart stopping for a brief moment. The words hung in the air. _Destroy her…? No…!_

Renamon leapt up, an orb of light forming in front of her. _"Diamond Sto-!"_ she began, but IceDevimon's claw smashed into her abdomen faster than even her keen eyes could follow. Frigid cold air blasted across her fur and she felt the demon's claws crushing into her stomach, frost biting into her fur and skin, worming its way into her insides.

_"Frozen Claw!"_ IceDevimon shouted, swinging her to the side before suddenly flinging her to the ground below. Renamon struck the roof with tremendous force, bouncing twice on the ice before finally coming to a rest. She didn't stay down though, and sat up, just as soon as IceDevimon dove toward her with a demonic howl.

_"Diamond Storm!"_ she shouted again, leaping to her feet, the orb of light once again forming before her.

_"Frozen Claw!"_

Once again, the ice digimon's speed beat her to the attack, his massive arms hammering into the sides of her head. Pain explode through her skull and for the briefest of moments, everything went dark. She barely felt the cold ground as she collapsed onto its surface with a groan. Laughing, IceDevimon floated down back close to Rika, eager to show off his triumph.

"Have I made my point yet?" he asked, turning to her. " _I'm_ the superior digimon. _I've_ told you the truth. Only _I_ am trustworthy enough and powerful enough for you to obtain _all_ of your goals."

Rika looked up at him and took a step back. "No…"

IceDevimon's eyes widened at that.

_"No?!"_ he seethed before his anger collapsed into an understanding smirk. "Oh. I see. You're worried about Renamon still. Don't. I'll end her suffering soon. No more playing around."

He started toward the fallen vixen, claws gleaming as he flexed them.

Takato looked back and forth between the three, feeling anger and panic welling up inside him. The situation was rapidly dissolving again. Renamon had been their only shot at turning this around and she lost as quickly as the rest of them. Rika…

_Rika!_

"Rika! She has to digivolve _now!"_ he shouted, hoping to snap her back to reality.

_IceDevimon must have really gotten into her head! If Renamon could digivolve, this would be over! There's no way IceDevimon would be able to beat her!_

Rika however just stood there, stock still, her eyes full of fear and doubts. It felt as though he could _almost_ hear what was going on in her mind…

_…I can't let her digivolve… She might end up like IceDevimon…_

And another…

_What if…she is like IceDevimon?_

Renamon pushed herself up with a groan, starting to recover, but it wouldn't do her any good… Not as she was now. Her gaze met with Rika's, only for the girl to look away, ashamed.

_Forgive me…_

_"No!"_

Fury won out over panic as Takato slid down the glacier that trapped his partner. Gripping the cinder block in his hands, he flung it at IceDevimon. Turning with a scowl, the demonic digimon shot out a blast of blue light from his eyes, striking the cinderblock. It continued to tumble toward him though, and smashed into his head, shattering into a thousand pieces. IceDevimon stumbled, unhurt, but turned a baleful glare at Takato.

_"Avalanch Claw…"_ he growled, turning and flapping his wings, sending a shower of ice at the boy. Takato and Henry both dodged, but Takato found the side of his head clipped by one of the icicles and he hit the ground hard with a half-muffled cry, warm blood flowing from the wound and out onto the ice.

"Stay down, Hazard Tamer," IceDevimon commanded. "I'll deal with you soon enough."

"No…" Takato staggered to his feet, wiping at his forehead. "No! Rika! Renamon has to digivolve! She's going to _die_ if she doesn't!"

_She's going to die!_ Rika's breath caught in her throat and she looked around her, at Takato; at Henry and Kari… At Sora and Biyomon, who were both looking at her worriedly. Biyomon was wrapped in Sora's jacket still, and it seemed to her that her feathers were starting to go pale. That was impossible, and yet…

Yet…

Her gaze continued around, at Gatomon… She knew Ken and Davis and their partners lay behind her…

They were all going to die. Renamon was going to die…

Her gaze settled on the kitsune.

_She didn't have to be here…_

"Why do you look at her like that?" IceDevimon demanded, pointing at Renamon. "A digimon is only useful if it can fight! Tell me! _Why_ do you care for this pathetic creature?"

Rika bit back at the pain that threatened to well up inside her, and welling up it was. It pushed through her resistance regardless, and soon enough words that felt almost foreign to her escaped her lips.

"She's my friend…" she whispered before continuing in a stronger voice. "I care because Renamon's my _friend!"_

At that, light burst free from her digivice, and over on the roof's entrance, Calumon exclaimed excitedly at Rika's declaration, the triangle on his forehead blooming with a bright red light in response. A shell of data formed around Renamon and rose into the air as she called out her digivolution.

_"Renamon! Digivolve tooo…Kyubimon!"_

The shell shattered, revealing the nine-tailed kitsune for all to see. She fell on all fours, flames lighting at the tips of her tails, taking aim at IceDevimon.

"She did it!" Takato exclaimed loudly, a smile splitting across his face.

However, the sentiment was not shared by Rika, whose eyes searched Kyubimon questioningly, imploring her for an answer.

"Why did you digivolve?" she asked.

There was no answer yet however, as the battle was quickly joined.

_"Fox Tail Inferno!"_ Kyubimon shouted, shadows forming around her as fire balls suddenly began to appear around IceDevimon. The demon recoiled and crouched down, and with a powerful flap of his wings, he flew into the air before the fireballs detonated on the area where he stood.

"Where're you going, frosty?" Kyubimon asked, quickly running after him. Coiling into a tight ball, she launched a serpentine gout of fire, but IceDevimon once more had another counter.

_"Tundra Freeze!"_ he shouted, blue beams once more erupting from his eyes and striking the flames. The superheated fire turned crystalline and shattered in midair as he poured on the cold. Still, he wasn't done and with another powerful flap of his wings, he launched a barrage of razor sharp icicles at the kitsune.

_"Avalanche Claw!"_

"Kyubimon…" Rika said quietly as the ground exploded around the vulpine digimon. In spite of Kyubimon's evolution, it _still_ wasn't enough. It looked like all her hopes…all her _dreams_ had been for nothing.

_This is how it all ends…isn't it?_

"We've got to do something!" Takato exclaimed, going back to the block of ice that held his frozen friends, kicking and clawing at it, ignoring the cold as it bit at him; ignoring the blood that continued to flow down from his wound. Henry looked at the boy, half in worry at his injury and half in amazement that he continued to keep fighting in spite of how hopeless everything looked.

_What can we do though? Without our partners…_

An idea then came to him and a smile of crazed smile bloomed across his face.

_"Got it! I have an idea!"_ he shouted, pulling out a card from his pocket. Ignoring Takato's questioning look, he quickly slashed it through his digivice.

_"Digi-modify! Expansion activate!"_

_Here goes nothing…_ he thought as within the ice Terriermon's body darkened and began to swell. Here was the simplicity of his idea. The ice surrounded Terriermon on all sides, but it was also a rigid body – and _fragile_ once put under enough pressure. The only problem was, they didn't have enough pressure to hit the block of ice where it counted. There was simply too much of it and too solid on the outside.

On the inside however was a digital body capable of being altered, and the ice was all around him. The expansion card blew him up like a balloon, putting pressure on the ice everywhere it touched him. Fractures would form and very quickly – provided that the card's effect lasted long enough – the rest would work itself out.

Sure enough, the miniature glacier shattered, spilling out Guilmon and a now deflating and groaning Terriermon onto the ground.

"It worked!" Takato cheered, hugging his partner close to him. Guilmon felt cold to the touch, but what did it matter? He was free!

The cloud of ice cleared, revealing Kyubimon had collapsed again, her injuries even worse than before as now IceDevimon was getting serious with her. His expression hardening with determination, Takato released Guilmon and once more withdrew his digivice.

"All right you guys!" he began. "Now it's our turn!"

Craning his head toward them, IceDevimon grinned. "I don't think so, _boy!"_

_It's high past time I dealt with you…_ he thought, only to hear Kyubimon weakly calling her attack.

_"F-Fox Tail Inferno…"_

Tilting his head to the side, the small, solitary fireball narrowly missed him. "Fighting to the end? Pathetic…"

Kyubimon's head collapsed, but a small smile crossed her face. Her distraction had been more than enough.

"Are you ready, Guilmon?" Takato asked, the two stepping forward, ready for action. "Let's get him!"

"Okie Dokie!" Guilmon nodded, charging forward. Drawing out a card, Takato quickly slashed it through his digivice.

_"Digi-modify! Speed activate!"_

True to the card's named ability, Guilmon's pace quickened, rapidly crossing the distance to IceDevimon, who merely scoffed at him with disbelief.

"Back for more already?"

_"Pyro Sphere!"_ was Guilmon's reply as he let loose a glowing ball of crimson fire at IceDevimon. Taken aback by the sudden speed behind it, the fallen angel flew upward and ducked to the side, narrowly missing the attack as it exploded against the ceiling.

_I should have dealt with him when I had the chance!_ he berated himself. _No more playing around now…_

_"Frozen Claw!"_ he shouted, and at once his _arm_ shot forward, extending and slamming into Guilmon, who caught his hand with his claws. He slammed to a halt, but the power continued to course through him, giving him enough strength to offer significant resistance to come to a deadlock with IceDevimon's physical strength…but only for a moment!

_I need another edge!_ Takato thought, before remembering he could combo cards together. Dropping a hand into his pocket, he withdrew another card. One that he thought would work great with the speed card following his earlier lessons with Henry. He just hadn't had the time to see if it would work.

_No time like the present,_ he thought, slashing it through his digivice.

_"Digi-modify! Hyper Wing activate!"_

"That's it!" Henry exclaimed, seeing what he was doing. Rika gasped and looked up to see six, angelic wings sprout free from Guilmon's back. Combined with his speed boost, he rocketed forward, easily breaking past IceDevimon's arm and slamming into his abdomen before he could even react. Moving with even more speed, Guilmon slammed his enemy into the frozen ceiling that was his 'humble abode' head first. The ice shattered and his horns caught inside the cracks, and he flailed about, unable to see.

Easy prey.

Falling away, a glow of crimson formed in the back of his throat, and he unleashed a punishing _Pyro Sphere_ point blank on IceDevimon. Searing heat exploded through the demon's body as it blasted apart. He screamed… Screamed so loudly and horribly, until, finally, his remains – head and severed arm – broke apart and were drawn into Guilmon as he now began to glow, signaling that he was loading IceDevimon's data. He didn't think about it or the fact that it was frowned upon. It had been simply… _instinctive._

As if a spell had been lifted, or that in some way the frozen fortress were connected to its master, the crystalline cavern vanished, and the warm air of night washed over the group. Removing her jacket from Biyomon, Sora gasped, seeing that her partner was now bleeding freely, the icicle that had plugged the injury having vanished with the fortress.

_No!_ she exclaimed mentally, turning to her fellow Digidestined. _"Kari!"_

As the other woman quickly raced over to her, flicking a worried look over at the children and sliding over to the unconscious forms of Davis, Ken and their respective partners, she pulled off her own jacket, her memories from the war helping her as she pulled up her knowledge of digimon first-aid. It was lighter, but easier to manipulate. They could tie it off and hopefully – _hopefully –_ slow the data leakage until they could get Biyomon somewhere that treated digimon.

_No… We need more help for this._ Pulling out her phone, she began dialing the number for Yolei. It wouldn't do to let Takeru knew how closely they stayed in contact, but they needed help for everyone… _badly!_

Henry glanced over at the two adults before turning his attention to the girl between him and Takato. She stood stock still, her eyes angry and glaring at the rooftop; the whole world around her shut out.

"Rika, are you okay?" he asked, taking a tentative step toward her, not at all sure how she was going to react. She was visibly upset and the whole incident had badly shaken her. The revelation of Renamon as a Nightmare Soldier working with IceDevimon especially had to have gotten to her.

"I hate 'em…" was the girl's only response. It was quiet, but there was significant force behind her words, causing Henry to involuntarily step back. Yes, she was mad. Her eyes had the glint of a burning forest. She wanted to break something, and she didn't care what.

Takato, unfortunately, didn't quite pick up on this as he rubbed the back of his head and laughed, somehow not noticing the small bits of blood that continued to dribble down his forehead, pooling on top of his goggles.

"Well he's gone now," he smiled. "Come on, let's go before…"

"Not him."

"Huh?"

_Now_ Takato was starting to catch on, eyebrows rising in surprise.

"I hate digimon," Rika clarified more forcefully. _"All of them!"_

Calumon, who had landed on Guilmon's head, looked at the girl sorrowfully, his ears retreating back into his head. This…was not what he hoped for.

Kyubimon climbed to her feet with a sigh. She had expected this and she was not surprised.

_What's done is done,_ she thought. Turning away, she offered no word or comment to contest Rika's proclamation.

_It's…my fault anyway,_ she thought to herself, climbing atop the ledge. With a leap, she disappeared into the night

"Rika!" Takato protested, raising his hands at her in a placating manner. "You don't mean that…"

_Hate digimon?_ Sora blinked and looked up at the children just in time to see Rika slam her fist into Takato's face. The boy toppled backward in surprise, crashing to the ground.

"W-Wha…?" he gasped, clutching at his cheek. Rika stormed past him without so much as a look at anyone. Not Henry. Not in the direction Kyubimon had vanished in. Not Takato. Not Sora or Biyomon.

She didn't want to look at Sora and Biyomon. Not with how she felt right now. All she knew right now was her anger and the fearful trembling that flushed through her about Kyubimon, about herself and what she was.

What she was intended to be by the Nightmare Soldiers.

A _monster._

"Rika!" Sora called out, only to gasp as she realized she was letting up pressure on her partner's wound. "Damn it… Rika! _Rika!"_

Clenching her eyes shut, Rika ignored the tears that flowed down her face now, no longer freezing, and disappeared down the rooftop entrance, feeling sick to death of herself.


	56. Interlude 6: Darkness of Mind and Sky

Rika stormed into the gate of her home and raced through her yard. She didn't care that her mother and grandmother were home, and didn't think about whether or not they were worried about her. She barely noticed the news droning in the living room, her family sitting in front of the TV, as it reported on a digimon disturbance – the _very_ one she had been involved in. At least, not until she heard the word _ice._

Pausing in the hall just outside the living room, she listened, hands clenching and unclenching as she became all too aware of her card box and digivice hanging on her belt.

_"...digimon emerging again for the first time in years,"_ said the news anchor. _"Is this a sign of the firewall breaking down? Could this be the start of a new Digital War?"_

Rika stormed off, not bothering to listen to see what response was. All she knew was the anger that surged within her. She had been _used!_ If there had been a war, she would have been the one who would have kicked it off!

_How stupid I was…_ she thought, throwing open the door to her room and slamming it shut behind her. _It wasn't just Hazard digimon that I had to worry about. Not even dark digimon or wild ones. It was all of them._

She turned on the light to her room and looked around, as if seeing it for the first time. Nothing about it had changed, but for once it felt… _alien_ to her. This was where everything began for her as a Tamer, and now it looked wholly unwelcoming.

Approaching her wastebasket she unclipped her deck box and digivice from her belt. Gazing at them for a moment, she remembered everything she went through with them that led her to this point; all the battles. Renamon defeating a Champion digimon for the first time with minimal assistance; finding Guilmon in the park, who, at the time, seemed to hold all the means to getting to the digital world; and Renamon digivolving to her Champion form for the first time. The way the vulpine digimon had looked after nearly dying trying to save her…

_"Oh Renamon. Why'd you do it?"_

_"Because… You're my partner…"_

_Liar._

Raising her hand, with a loud grunt, she slammed her deck box and digivice into the wastebasket as hard as she could, burying it deep into the trash. What did it matter now anyway? Certainly not to her.

"I hate digimon," she said to the empty room around her, her voice full of bitterness and self-loathing.

**###**

"Your parents are on their way."

Blinking, Takato looked up at Kari before nodding numbly.

"Did you tell them that I'm a Tamer?" he asked, wondering how his mother would take the news. She had always been wary of his obsession with the digital life forms, and he doubted she would welcome Guilmon into their household with open arms no matter how many times he protected him.

_If anything, she might think he's the cause of everything I get into…_

"I told them that you were playing with Henry near the building where IceDevimon was and a falling icicle hit you." Reaching down, Kari placed a hand over the boy's bandaged forehead, brushing his hair out of the way so she could get a good look at it. "It's close to the truth, so you won't exactly be lying."

"I would almost think that it was," Takato said, shifting his weight on his seat. "An icicle in June? That's weird enough as it is."

"Fortunately the news is reporting on it, so you have evidence," Kari said, smiling slightly as she saw that the doctors did well on their job as she expected. "Takaishi made sure to leave out everyone's involvement."

"That's good," Takato nodded, breathing a sigh of relief. "Hopefully Guilmon gets home all right. I worry about him sometimes. Especially with that Hazard mark on his chest."

"Speaking of hazards," Gatomon said, approaching the pair with a couple cans of soda in her paws, "It looks like everyone's going to be okay. Davis, Ken, Veemon and Wormmon are a little roughed up, but they should be back on their feet by the end of the week."

"What about Biyomon?" Kari asked, turning toward her partner worriedly. The feline's tail flicked, but her face betrayed nothing.

"Touch and go still, but the doctors expect a recovery. Sora's with her and they've hooked up her digivice for a more _direct_ energy transfer while her wound finishes healing, so she _should_ be all right…"

Now her face betrayed her and she became more pensive. "She took a pretty bad hit. The doctors said something about IceDevimon's attack was preventing Biyomon from dropping down a level to save herself."

"A core attack?" Kari asked. Upon seeing Takato's raised eyebrow she turned to explain. "When a digimon's core is damaged or infected, they can be open to being destroyed. Sometimes digimon, in order to save themselves from serious injuries, revert to a lower level, but if the core is damaged, that can prevent a digimon from doing that."

"Ah… Okay," Takato replied, bobbing his head up and down in understanding as he took a soda from the feline digimon.

"Doesn't look like it was a core attack," Gatomon continued. "It was probably like a virus. The doctors are giving her a good look over."

"Thank goodness," Kari breathed, popping her can open and taking a swig. Takato looked down at his drink uncertainly, not opening it yet. Instead, one hand drifted to his face, touching the bruise that had come from the fist of a particular, red-haired girl.

"What do you think will happen to Renamon?" he asked quietly. "Or Rika?"

Kari and Gatomon looked at each other.

"In all likelihood," Kari began carefully, "Hypnos will track Renamon down and attempt to return her to the digital world."

She didn't want to say that there was also a chance that they might delete her if she resisted – a particularly high likelihood in her opinion, given what the night's events revealed.

_Takato's unsettled enough as it is._

"Not before they get whatever they want about the Nightmare Soldiers from her," Gatomon said, looking at her claws contemplatively. "I don't know how they'll manage that though. She doesn't look like the sort who would talk."

"Isn't their plan ruined though?" Takato asked them anxiously. "I mean, Renamon cares about Rika…or…or she did? I…" He looked away, a lost look in his eyes. "I…don't know what I'm talking about…do I?"

Reaching out, Kari rubbed the back of the boy's head, looking at him sympathetically. "Everyone's had a big day today," she said. "Go to bed early tonight. You've earned it."

Takato made a complaining noise at that, but nodded in resignation. There didn't seem to be much to do with regards to the night. He had no idea how to find Renamon and he doubted Rika was in the mood to see him again after what happened earlier. The shiner she gave him more than drove the message home to him.

_Still…_ he thought, caressing his drink lightly. _I wish there was something I could do to make things better._

He had an idea that if he tried, Rika would be mad at him either way.

**###**

Steam burst into the air as the pink, mole-shaped Trailmon came to a dead stop. The door opened and Izzy, Matt and Gabumon stepped out. Pulling out his digivice, Matt checked the screen before scowling at the Trailmon behind them.

"Hey, what's going on here? We're not at our destination yet."

"This is as far as we go," the Trailmon said, quivering. "Up ahead is the Continent of Darkness. I'm not going any further."

"Wait," began Matt, but it was too late. The Trailmon's doors slammed shut and it immediately went into reverse, abandoning them before a landscape shrouded in shadow with a black temple at the end of the train tracks, leaving Matt to fume and curse under his breath.

"Well, if this is as far as we can go by Trailmon, maybe we should have Gabumon digivolve and take us the rest of the way."

"Not a good idea," Matt said, turning back around. "First, Gabumon's the only one here who can digivolve, remember? Second…" He pointed at the black clouds as thunder crashed in the distance. "I'm not sure any place that comes with the label of 'Continent of Darkness' should be treated so lightly."

"He's right you know," Gabumon nodded. "We don't know anything about this Digital World, but if that Trailmon's reaction means anything, we should be careful about digivolving. I'm not the spring chicken that I used to be after all."

"Fortunately knowledge is a power in its own right," Izzy said, lifting up the lid of his computer, revealing Tentomon, waiting for him.

_"Welcome back Izzy. Was your ride comfortable this time?"_

"Certainly uneventful, old pal," the raspberry-haired boy nodded with a smile. "No attacks from Apocalymon's digimon this time around."

_"The safer the better,"_ Tentomon said. _"Although it doesn't look like the place we're going is any better in the long run."_

"That's what we wanted to ask you, Tentomon," Izzy said. "What can you tell us about the Continent of Darkness?"

_"It's one of the ten regions in this digital world. Cherubimon, one of the three Celestials, rules it from the Rose Morning Star."_

"Cherubimon…" Matt turned toward the forest, locating a small, rose-colored glow off in the horizon. "This isn't the same Cherubimon that attacked Willis from America, is it?"

_"No. But I would advise being careful around him anyway. This digital world has had certain tensions in it. The Demon Lord Lucemon had a hand in many of those tensions it seems."_

"Great," Matt said, running a hand through his hair. _I hate those guys. Everywhere they go there's nothing but chaos and destruction._ "Is there anything else that we should know about before entering?"

_"Unfortunately there's not much information about the place. Cherubimon kept his secrets well guarded. Nothing goes in or out without his permission or knowledge."_

"Which makes me wonder _why_ we're even going there in the first place," Matt frowned. "This place seems like nothing but trouble. How can he be one of the Celestial digimon? He sounds about as bad as Devimon."

"There's not much to base that on except that he lives in the Continent of Darkness," pointed out Izzy. "If he's one of the Celestials, he's surely doing his job to keep the peace here. And if you remember from our philosophy classes, darkness is an aspect of human nature that, by itself, isn't evil but a different way of looking at the world. That's why it would exist here without any seeming trouble."

"And yet digimon like Trailmon avoid it like the plague," Matt replied, frowning at the dark, stormy clouds. "Maybe Tai was right to stay in the digital world…"

Izzy raised an eyebrow at him, waiting for him to continue. Seeing this, he sighed.

"It's just… Those encounters we had. The evil digimon didn't go away. They stayed. They survived." Narrowing his eyes, he glared at the black gate. "They _always_ survive…"

"The most we could do was seal them," Izzy said, remembering Belphemon. "It was far better that way. We all agreed on that. The nature of evil in the digital world is a physical manifestation of the question of evil itself. Our emotions gave it life, but our data gave it form. But it was _trapped_ in the forms it currently took, and as long as it remained that way, it couldn't change into anything we didn't…"

"I _know_ that Izzy!" Matt snapped, rounding on him. Grinding his teeth together he massaged his forehead. "Sorry. It's just… Sometimes I would really like some closure to…everything. You'd think that after winning, it would have ended then and there and we could all just go home and live our lives…"

"Joe had that difficulty as well when we were in high school," Izzy pointed out, remembering the festival where Gomamon digivolved to Mega for the first time. "I could give you the whole 'Destiny' speech but…"

"Yeah. _But._ I've heard it all before."He looked down at Gabumon, who had been watching the whole scene serenely, not saying a word. For some reason, his silence…made him worry. "I'm sorry, Gabumon. I don't mean to sound aggravated. I'm not blaming the digital world for what happened to TK…"

He stopped, unfolding his hands. His digivice fell from his grasp and clattered on the ground.

"That's been lingering under the surface for a long time, hasn't it Matt?" Gabumon asked after a moment. "I was wondering when you'd notice you were starting to sound a little like him."

Frowning, Matt knelt down and picked up his digivice.

"We're not getting anywhere just standing here talking," he said irritably. "Sora and Mimi are probably worried about us. The whole _world_ might be in danger. We've got to get back there as soon as we can."

With that, the blond-haired man started toward the black temple. Izzy glanced at Gabumon as he began to follow after him.

"So I'm not the only one to notice," he said after a moment. "I was starting to worry since no one talked about it since the war…"

"We don't talk about a lot of things from the war," Gabumon said sadly, rubbing a paw against his shoulder, as if remembering an old wound. "Sometimes I wish we would. It would help clear the air a little."

Izzy couldn't help but nod in agreement.

**###**

Ryuuji Tamashiro held a crude drawing of IceDevimon in his hands. Raising a pen, he drew an _X_ across his face and then a dark field of energy took hold of the piece of paper, causing it to float before evaporating into nothing, save for a few, small bits of ash that he fastidiously dusted off his desk.

"Well… That went well," he said, leaning back in his chair, continuing to take in the news report. "The Princess was a failure. I should have known. She was too soft after all. The darkness couldn't corrupt her heart like I hoped it would. A pity. She would have been quite the asset to the Nightmare Soldiers."

The news continued on, stating that an investigation was underway now and more reports would be made as the situation developed. Looking over to his computer, Ryuuji tapped a command, and a small, virtual dog appeared on the screen, barking happily upon registering him. He smiled at the false eagerness. It struck him as being more real than the false smiles that the humans gave each other, disguising their plots to stab each other in the back.

_How ironic that a non-living thing is more honest than they are,_ he thought in dry amusement.

"Princess or not," he said, sitting up so he could face the dog more fully, "the task of destroying this world falls to you now, and we start on that road tomorrow."

The virtual dog yipped happily in response.


	57. Interlude 7: Reliance

In a field of green, a castle of rainbow hues and arching spires surrounded by a single wall sat, a single, solitary figure overlooking its corner of the digital world. The figure was armored, with a golden cross emblazoned on its blue helm and ten, metallic, golden wings arching skyward from its back.

Seraphimon; the Lord of the Forest Terminal and one of the Three Celestial digimon that ruled this particular sub-world, gazed out toward the distant horizon where a black cloud hung; the Continent of Darkness.

_Cherubimon…_ he thought quietly. His fellow Celestial was often on his mind of late; something that left him feeling… _disquieted._ Tensions ran deep between the digimon that lived here, with causes that went back for centuries from even before the time of the Lord of Pride's rule over the world.

_Pride…_ he thought, recalling the Demon Lord. _He told digimon once, before his fall, that we were to all take pride in our unity; our commonality as digimon. That together we were invincible and there was nothing we couldn't do._

His armor clicked as he curled his fingers into his metal palms.

_Unfortunately, the divisions between the beast and human digimon ran too deep. They raged against each other too much, and for all his power; for all the pride he instilled in each of us…it wasn't enough, and he fell to darkness. Our freedom became…a problem._

He found it somewhat ironic that, in the end, his tyranny was destroyed by a unified force of the very beast and human digimon that he became frustrated with ruling.

_Cherubimon is a beast digimon, and Ophanimon and I… We are of the human. Are we making the same mistake as Lucemon did? Is there something that we missed? Cherubimon has been so distant of late, and he…_

He blinked beneath his helm as he sensed a familiar presence. A smile crossing his armored face, he turned to find the radiant sight of Ophanimon, floating in the air before him, a soft glow surrounding her body.

"Seraphimon," she spoke lovingly, a small smile on her face. She resembled him in appearance; the armor and wings; the helmet with a cross adorning its surface, though the feminine shape of her chin was exposed. Long, golden hair cascaded down her back, appearing like a cape of sorts as she touched down. He raised his hand to meet hers, and their fingers entwined around each other, the light now flowing between them in a mixture of gold and silver. They gazed at each other, and Seraphimon felt a longing in his heart quiet upon her presence, replaced only by simple happiness, as though he had become complete.

"It is well that you have arrived," he said after a moment. "Cherubimon should be here soon."

"I have already arrived."

Turning suddenly, their hands breaking apart, the two angels found their comrade floating down from the sky, massive hands spread outward as though expecting an embrace, and a wide smile beaming at them – toward Ophanimon in particular – before touching down on the roof of the tower. His tall, rabbit-like ears relaxed.

"It is good to see you all again," he said, his tone gravelly sounding. "And you especially, Ophanimon… You remain as beautiful and pristine as ever. The digital world is brightened by your presence." He bowed slightly, his collar touching the ground as he did so. "How may I be of service?"

"Seraphimon?" she asked, turning to their companion, missing the flash of jealousy in the beast-Celestial's eye as she did so. "You summoned this meeting…"

"There has been a development in the relations between the real and digital worlds," Seraphimon replied. "If you would follow me…"

Turning, he led them inside his castle and down the stairs to his throne room. At the entrance, stood a small, white-garbed digimon with a snowflake-tipped wand and golden hair. His mouth was sewn shut.

"Welcome to Seraphimon's Castle," he bowed to the other Celestials. "It is an honor to have you here."

"The honor is ours, Sorcerymon" Ophanimon smiled. "You are well today?"

"Quite," Sorcerymon bowed again. Seraphimon looked at him proudly.

"He grows in power and knowledge every day and his loyalty knows no bounds. He will make a fine warrior."

Sorcerymon blushed beneath his master's praise, and Cherubimon snorted, though not derisively.

"Well it is that you have a retainer of such devotion. I trust that his loyalty will ever be rewarded."

"I need no reward, save for service to Lord Seraphimon," Sorcerymon replied. Seraphimon chuckled and patted his retainer on the shoulder.

"Rise, young one. There is no need to bow in our presence. Indeed, I would request that you stand with us as an equal, for what we are about to discuss something that is of great importance. There are forces at work between the real and digital worlds that require our attention."

"I…yes sir," Sorcerymon said, rising to his feet. Cherubimon _harrumphed._

"Should I have brought my retainers as well?" he asked. "They are of equal power and guard the four spirits of Darkness, Earth, Wood, Water and Steel. Surely their voices will be needed."

"It is best that we keep this between ourselves," Seraphimon replied, entering his throne room, his response causing Cherubimon's eyes to draw together angrily. "Their duties are to the spirits. They should not desert their posts."

"Very well," Cherubimon growled, lumbering inside while Ophanimon eyed him with concern. With a gesture, Seraphimon summoned an orb of glass into his hand and raised it so that the others could see. Colors swirled within its center until, finally, resolving into the form of a vulpine digimon with yellow fur and a cold, azure stare.

"A master of the martial arts and some _minor_ magical talent?" Cherubimon scoffed. "You called us here for a Renamon?"

"This is no mere Renamon," Seraphimon said. "She is a member of the Nightmare Soldiers."

"They're _still_ around?" he asked, flabbergasted. "I thought they were all destroyed in the war. Clearly there has been an oversight."

"Clearly," Seraphimon agreed with a nod. "Steps must be taken to either capture or destroy this Renamon. She has information key to whatever plans they have in store for the human world. Indeed, she _is_ key to their plans. One way or the other, removing her from the equation would damage their plans, whatever they may be."

He cast his hand over the orb, and Renamon's visage vanished. Ophanimon, who had been watching it, pressed her lips together tightly.

"Surely though it is far better to bring her here than to delete her."

"So long as there is no need to do so," Seraphimon said, causing the sphere to vanish into thin air. "Based on my observations of her however, it is likely deletion will be the only recourse. She will not leave her partner, and will fight to the very end."

Cherubimon narrowed his eyes at the angelic digimon. Already, in the blackest corners of his mind, he could feel a sneaking suspicion as to how Seraphimon would handle the situation.

"Allow me to apprehend her," he said. "She is of the beast digimon. The duty should fall to me as I am more likely to reach her."

Seraphimon and Ophanimon both regarded each other for a moment before looking back at him, and at once that dark part of him grew in force. He restrained it, but only just barely.

"Perhaps it would be best if we handled her," Ophanimon began cautiously. "As a beast digimon, you are too close to the situation, and this Renamon is backed by the Nightmare Soldiers. She may be able to lull you or your servants into a false sense of security."

"And you don't believe you are too far removed?" Cherubimon demanded a bit heatedly, his eyes flashing with an eerie gold light. "You do not understand beast digimon. Many of the laws you have passed…the order you have imposed benefit the human digimon. Many beasts have had to withdraw to the Continent of Darkness in order to thrive."

He glowered at the two angels. "But even then, we do not _bask_ in the light as you do."

He met each of their gazes in turn before they looked at each other again. He felt as though they were exchanging words between each other that he was not privy to and once again he felt that flash of dark anger toward them.

_They plot against you,_ he heard a voice say from the deepest recesses of his heart. _They don't even know about the humans who have entered your lands. I doubt that they care what goes on there anyway in that Continent of Darkness… The suffering and hardship the beast digimon have all had to endure. They should be taught a lesson that the darkness is not to be trifled with…_

_No!_

With great effort, he thrust the dangerous thoughts away, just in time for Seraphimon and Ophanimon to turn back toward him.

"I am sorry, Cherubimon," Ophanimon said finally. "However we believe that it is best if we handle this. As a compromise, I will be the one handling this endeavor. I trust my soldiers to be as careful as possible when apprehending her."

Cherubimon ground his fangs together, but nodded his concession, though it burned within him.

"If that is the will of our council, so shall it be."

**###**

Cherubimon phased into view of his throne room, utterly disappointed with how the meeting had gone. Once more, his needs – the needs of the beasts – were being overlooked by the human digimon in favor of what the angels believed to be right.

_Right for a human digimon, but not for a beast,_ he thought, grinding his fangs together. Touching down, he took hold of his head with one, enormous hand and winced.

_You know what you have to do if you want to help your fellow beast kin,_ spoke the voice, and for an instant, he swore that he felt something… _familiar_ about that voice. He could almost see the face behind it; not his own, but…someone…else…

His color fluctuated and his holy rings faded for a moment before returning to normal. His suspicions went with his return to normalcy, though he felt oddly drained, as though he had just wrestled in a great match.

_Possibly with Seraphimon,_ he thought, a cruel smile drawing on his face before lumbering out of the room. It was well past time for him to check on his retainers.

Perhaps…he also wondered, if he should instruct them in the power of the spirits.

_What better way to protect them…then by becoming them?_ he wondered, and the more he thought about it, the more he liked the idea.

**###**

Joe Kido and Gomamon exited the airport, Joe sighing as he did so. Gomamon looked at him sympathetically, having heard it. His partner did not enjoy being cooped up for so long in the small space of an airplane seat.

_Not that I can blame him. The digimon section isn't exactly nice and spacey either. I feel more like luggage than an actual digimon._

"Well," he began. "Here we are. The new home for the weird and unusual."

"At least it's not Odaiba this time," Joe remarked, pushing his glasses up on his face. "Though I'd rather it not be taking place in _anywhere…"_

"I know what you meant," Gomamon nodded, crawling along beside him as they made their way down the steps. _They sure took a lot of heavy hits over the years. It's like one of those old Gojira movies._

Gomamon grimaced. Of all the things that went out of style in the wake of the war with the powers of darkness, kaiju movies were among them. For too many people digimon had dried up people's appetite for the genre. Upon reaching the sidewalk, he frowned and looked around.

"Hey, Joe. I thought you said you arranged for a cab to meet us, but I'm not seeing any…"

There came a loud honk, and they turned to see a black limousine pull up beside them. The window rolled down, revealing a man wearing dark sunglasses in the back seat while holding a lighter in one hand. Joe blinked, instantly recognizing him.

"Takeru?"

"If you would kindly get in," Takaishi said as a man got out from the front passenger side door. He too wore a suit and sunglasses. Joe noticed a bulge beneath its surface, just over his chest.

_A gun?_ he wondered before frowning at Takeru. He had heard a number of uncomfortable sounding things from his friends over the years since the war ended. He had never gotten around to following up on them though, having been distracted by the busy work that was his life.

"Um… Can you tell me what this is all about?"

"We're here to make sure that you reach your destination safely," Takeru replied. "Now, if you would please get in."

"Why would I be in any danger…?" began Joe in protest, only to receive a tug from Gomamon.

"Joe… Can we just get in? It's TK, and I don't think he's going to tell us if we just stand around here playing twenty questions."

"I…" Joe frowned at Gomamon before finally shrugging in resignation. "I…guess it beats paying for cab fare," he said, getting inside. The door slammed shut and within short order they were off.

"Do you mind telling me what this is all about?"

"It's for your safety," Takeru replied, flicking his lighter open. "As you are aware, digimon have been appearing more frequently in Shinjuku. This has resulted in increased tensions throughout the city. Recently, one of the local Tamers had been…accosted …by an anti-digimon sympathizer."

"Does this have anything to do with Sora and Biyomon?"

"They were there for the most recent incident. In spite of our best efforts to keep the incident quiet, it seems that the word has gotten out anyway. The government building has a not inconsiderable number of people outside protesting, demanding action and answers."

He shifted in his spot, regarding Joe calmly. "You remember how angry mobs are. Once enough people are upset, reason goes out the window. The inevitable outcome is what can only be described as a witch hunt or a drumhead trial. You and Gomamon would be viewed as prime suspects and quickly removed in spite of all your accomplishments."

"Gee," Gomamon said in a deadpan voice. "Thanks for trying to freak us out."

"It's not an attempt at freaking us out," Joe said calmly – or as calmly as he could with his heart beating erratically in his chest. "You know it as well as I do. The Odaiba refugee camp?"

"Joe, there was a _war_ going on! Everything was nuts, not just the people."

"People can still be crazy even in peacetime," Joe replied softly, reaching out and running a hand through his partner's mane. "Thanks TK."

Takeru simply flicked his lighter closed in response.

**###**

Sora lay on the hospital bed, one hand clutching her digivice while an IV drip was imbedded in her arm. She felt tired. So _very_ tired. A part of her wondered how much time had passed since the battle with IceDevimon had ended, or if it had even ended at all, as time had become so strange in her current condition.

Another part of her wondered how long it had been since her last donation to Biyomon.

She felt a hand touch her arm and she cracked an eye open to find Joe standing over her, a worried smile on his face.

"Joe…" she said weakly before coughing.

"Hey…" he began, only to be interrupted by a suddenly bouncing Mimi appearing by his shoulder.

"Sora! You're awake! Oh thank the gods, I thought you were…"

"Mimi! Mimi, hold on." Taking hold of the woman by the shoulders, he pulled her back, gently, but firmly. Not for the first time was either woman surprised by this, as they largely remembered Joe as the shy, somewhat timid and uncertain boy who was easy to embarrass and struggled daily with his confidence.

The war aside, the time spent in the ER apparently did wonders for his courage and self-esteem.

"Mimi, you're pregnant, remember? Don't get so excited."

"But…Sora…!"

"I know, but you need to stay relaxed. When was the last time you got a good night's sleep? I heard you've been here since last night."

"I…"

"Mimi, I'd like for you to get some rest, okay? I need to check in on Sora."

Sora chuckled mentally at the exchange. She could imagine Mimi pouting as Joe scolded her, and she found her suspicion confirmed when she overheard Mimi, just outside of her range, mutter something about sleeping in the chair. She saw the back of Joe's head bob up and down in an affirmative, apparently relieved to get just _that_ concession from her.

Soon, a light appeared in front of her eye, and she blinked back in reflex.

"Sorry," Joe apologized. "At least your reflexes appear to be good. It's been a few hours since you last donated energy to Biyomon. You're holding up pretty well, but I'm going to have to suggest that you let someone else take care of that the next time around. You look exhausted. Exhausted mental energy is toxic for digimon, particularly digimon that rely on positive energy."

"She wasn't doing too good again," Sora mumbled, closing her eyes and yawning. "She took a turn for the worst and I'm her partner. I'm the most…compatible donor for her."

Joe nodded and took out a thermometer. Although Sora had already been given a checkup, Joe preferred to do it personally, if only to have a hands-on idea as to what Sora's condition was and to also keep his mind focused.

"Yeah, I heard," Joe nodded. He had seen her on his way in. The pink-bird was now hooked up to a basic Vaccine program. It wasn't particularly useful in his opinion, but it would slow the progression.

_I wish Izzy were here. He knows this stuff better than I do._

He frowned at himself. It…wasn't technically true. Izzy helped him with a number of things, but he found during the war that humans and digimon had enough similarities that he could translate the differences into something similar that he already understood. Vaccine programs for instance were the equivalent of biological vaccinations. Mending an analogue data frame broken in a digimon's arm was the same as mending a broken bone if you lacked the machinery for it.

The best part was just how much of it worked on belief. Once digimon and humans were united in their belief that they could mend something, the healing process via an exchange of energy usually took care of the rest, particularly when a digivice was present.

Joe placed the thermometer in Sora's mouth and checked his watch. "Don't worry Sora," he said. "I'll do whatever I can to save Biyomon. You have my word."

"I know you will," she smiled, closing her eyes again. "You're on the case. There's no one more reliable than you."


	58. Episode 11: Swords and Shields

Henry stood within the ruins of Shinjuku, the smell of burning cars and the smoke of Gargomon's gun barrels lofting into his nose. He drew in a deep, satisfied sigh and smiled, reveling at the carnage his partner wrought. It was… _beautiful._

"You did this."

Turning, Henry froze upon seeing a boy, his face masked in shadow, clutching at his arm, which was bent at an awkward angle, the skin swiftly darkening around the injury. Henry felt himself start to shake and he clutched at the sides of his head.

"No… It's just a game! Just…a…"

"Game?"

His eyes snapped open at Rika's voice, and he found her standing in the place of the boy, ice creeping along her face. Her lips were turning blue and she looked pale; pale as the IceDevimon that hovered behind her, caressing her cheek with a blood-red claw.

"Of course it was just a game," they said in unison. "It _is_ a game. There's no reason to care about what happens."

Rising into the air. IceDevimon sent a blast of icicles down on Gargomon. The gun-toting Champion tried to block the attack, but it did no good. The ice skewered him and he was forced to revert to his lower level of Terriermon to survive. He staggered on his tiny feet, wavered, and then collapsed with a soft thud. With a blink, he and Terriermon were in the midst of a vast desert – a familiar one – with floating particles of data all around them, the remains of dead digimon.

A shadow fell over them, and Henry turned to find Mephistomon towering over them.

"No more running for you, warrior," he mocked, raising his claws…

_"No!"_

Henry bolted awake, panting heavily. Looking around him, disoriented, he found Terriermon sitting at his desk, the sounds of digimon sprites dying on the computer. His dark eyes were scowling at him, annoyed.

"You're not usually noisy when you're having bad dreams," he said. "You messed up my game."

"Sorry," Henry said in a deadpan voice, running a hand over his face before throwing his blankets off and sweeping his legs over the edge. Terriermon's expression softened and he hopped down from the chair.

"Hey, momentai, Henry. I was just kiddin'. What's eating you? You've been weird for a while now."

"I'm fine," Henry lied, heading over to his dresser and grabbing some clothes for the day.

"Yeah right," Terriermon said. "I can read you like a book you know. You're being bothered by something." He tilted his head to one side and tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Let me guess…"

"It's really nothing," Henry sighed, tugging on his new shirt. "I've just…had some stuff on my mind."

"Like that stuff that happened with that Rika girl?"

Henry paused in undressing before continuing. Terriermon nodded, knowing he had hit his mark.

"She quit. Shouldn't you be celebrating? She can't come after us anymore."

"It's not that easy," Henry replied, thinking back on that night with a grim expression. He turned to Terriermon. "Do you…ever wonder if we're doing the right thing? Fighting other digimon? Deleting them?"

"Henry, did you _see_ what IceDevimon was doing the other day? It kidnapped Rika, Davis and Ken and took out almost all of us digimon. Did you see the icicles? That didn't look like it was _fun."_

Henry frowned as he finished getting dressed. He could sense the validity of Terriermon's argument, and yet…he just wasn't sure about it. "There had to be another way," he said. "I got caught up in everything then, but looking back on it…" He remembered the flash of excitement when Takato combined those two cards to give them their victory over IceDevimon. The same excitement he remembered from before becoming a Tamer. "…we could have done better."

"Momentai, Henry." Hopping up onto his partner's shoulder, the tiny digimon wrapped his long-arm like ears around his partner and settled himself. "We've got plenty of time to get better, and by the looks of things plenty of teachers. You worry too much."

Henry pressed his lips together, not feeling very convinced.

_The real and digital worlds aren't a game though,_ he thought. _We may learn, but…there is no do-over if we make a mistake._

**###**

"Digi-modify!" Takato exclaimed, slapping two modify cards together above his Greymon card. "All right, watch and learn boys, I'm coming in for an aerial attack! _Hyper Wings!"_

Grinning, he looked up at Kazu as the boy's mouth fell open, stunned at the unexpected play. Takato chuckled.

"You're grounded pal."

Kazu sat there for a moment, unable to believe what had just happened before finally lurching forward to peer at the two card combo.

_"Huh?!"_ he exclaimed loudly, causing Takato's smile to nearly explode off his face, excited at this acknowledgment of his skill.

"That's it. I win."

"I can't believe you beat me!" Kazu sat up, staring at Takato angrily. Sure, the boy beat him on the rare occasion he got a bad starting hand, but Takato usually lost more often than not; and certainly didn't know enough to combine cards in such a way.

Next to Kazu, Kenta adjusted his glasses. "Amazing," he whispered in awe. "What a game. I've never seen a combo like that before."

"Show's what you know," Kazu snorted. "I saw this combo on the _With the Will_ forums last year when that girl, the Digimon Queen wrecked the scene. The cards are hard to get though."

"Not too shabby, huh?" Takato smiled, thinking back on the battle when Guilmon completely and totally clobbered the much stronger IceDevimon with barely a fight. Well, once they were out of the ice that is, but they certainly did better than Kyubimon. His smile slipped a little, thinking about Rika and her partner, but he pushed it out of his mind for the time being. "I guess having _real life experiences_ kind of pays off, huh? It's hardly even a challenge anymore playing the card game."

Kazu blinked at that. "What do you mean by 'real life experience'?" he asked curiously. Now it was Takato's turn to blink, having realized what he just said out loud.

"Oh, too bad, but we seem to be out of time," he said, throwing on a face of bravado to hide the slight quiver of anxiety at almost revealing that he was a Tamer. Sweeping together his cards, he dumped them in his card box and closed it up.

"Quit playing dumb, Chumly," Kazu continued firmly. "I heard what you said. Now what's up, huh?"

"Y-You must be imagining things," Takato squirmed internally, taking the card box and tucking it under his arm. "Well…I…got to fly. It's been real."

"Hey come on!" Kenta protested as Takato inched closer to the exit of their dinosaur hut hideout. "Just one more game!"

"Hey!" threw in Kazu, becoming increasingly irritated with their friend. "Get back here, Goggle-brain! I want a rematch!"

"Sorry," Takato smirked anxiously. Grabbing the bag full of Guilmon's food, he dropped down over the edge. "Buh-bye."

Takato raced away from the hideout, a beaming smile on his face. He could barely keep his excitement contained and he laughed giddily. He did it! He beat Kazu and it didn't involve luck of the draw or digivolving to Ultimate before he could. Skill carried the day.

_I'm better than he is,_ he thought, entering the park and quickly locating the path that took him to Guilmon's home. Racing up the steps at a record pace, he arrived at the gate and pulled it open with a noisy creek.

"Hey, Guilmon!" he called. "Chow time!"

At the sound of his partner, he poked his head up from the hole he had been digging and smiled. "Yay! Takato!"

"Hey, buddy." Patting his partner's head, he pulled off his bag and opened it up to reveal…one loaf of bread. Guilmon took it happily and held the loaf, staring at the bag expectantly. After several moments of nothing happening, he looked up at Takato, then at the bag, and back to Takato again. His ears wilted as realization dawned on him.

"Awww… No more?"

Takato looked at his partner sympathetically. "I'm sorry, but this is all we have left right now." Kneeling down, he put on his best 'I promise you the world' face. "I'll bring you some fresh bread later with peanut butter, all right?"

Guilmon's stomach rumbled at the promised food, but at the same time he desired to have the food _now._ Still, it wasn't Takato's fault. Putting on a smile of his own, he bit into the lonely loaf.

"Hmmm… 'Kay," he chirped, savoring the mouth-watering taste since he couldn't gobble it up in one go.

"Good boy." Leaning back, Takato watched his partner as he devoured his meal, thinking about how far their partnership had come since the day they first met; the day Guilmon had been 'born'.

_He's gotten so much stronger in so short a time,_ he thought, feeling a sense of pride well up inside him.

"We're a great team, aren't we Guilmon? There's not a digimon around that's strong enough to beat the two of us!"

Laughing, Guilmon tossed the remainder of his bread into the air and caught it in his mouth as it came down, gobbling it right up.

"Yeah!"

**###**

Henry made his way down the bridge, Terriermon riding atop his head. Every person he passed gave him an odd look, and some backed away fearfully. He felt heat burn his face and he did his best to ignore the staring. Try as he might though, it felt like a branding iron had been placed upon him, marking him for what he was…and what he _might_ be.

"People are giving me weird looks," he said quietly. "You shouldn't have come."

"I _had_ to!" Terriermon protested from atop Henry's head. "Suzie would have had me in tights and that tutu by now. It's embarrassing! And painful."

Henry sighed. He could certainly understand his partner's feelings with regards to the kind of clothes his little sister regularly made him 'suffer' in, but he wondered if Terriermon understood just what was going on… How the world saw him.

_Digimon aren't wanted here anymore._

As if to drive the point home, he heard commotion off to his side – people rushing to the edge to investigate something going on the other side.

"There's some strange fog over there by the west gate bridge," he heard a man say. Next to him, a woman began to back away fearfully.

"Digimon…!" she shuddered. She began to turn when she spotted Henry and Terriermon. Her eyes widened in horror and she screamed, causing the rest of the crowd to spin around, startled.

Their eyes settled on Henry and at once they all grew rigid. Henry backed up, remembering his assault by the anti-digimon zealot from before. His gaze went from person to person, all of them not moving an inch, as though they were afraid that by doing so he would sick his partner on them. Behind them, the fog only grew thicker, and one of the crowd members risked a look over his shoulder.

"Here they come!" he shouted. "The digimon!"

Broken out of their paralysis, the crowd began to run, this time, fortunately, away from Henry, leaving the Tamer to breathe a sigh of relief. Disaster had been prevented, at least for now anyway.

**###**

Yolei and Tally swiveled in their chairs as they scanned the network. On the screen, a red, angry dot moved across it at a frantic pace. Tally frowned beneath her visor as she input commands to the Tracer that followed it, trying to calibrate its sensors.

"I can't seem to secure a tracer lock on the digimon's data," she reported.

"We won't make it in time," Yolei added. "It's going to bio-emerge!"

Takeru seethed down below. This digimon had been breaking through their security grid ever since it first popped up on their sensors. What was more it was almost as powerful as the last digimon – the IceDevimon – to break through. To date, it laughed off every one of their Tracers and the anti-digimon data package they carried.

_There's no other choice. They're just not ready yet._

"Use Yuggoth!" he ordered. "Stop that thing!"

No sooner were the words out of his mouth did the red dot abruptly drive to a halt, vanishing with a loud beep from the sensors.

"It's too late sir," said Yolei. "It's already begun. Full breach estimated in sixty seconds. At this point, the application of the Yuggoth program could be extremely dangerous!"

"Don't question me!" Takeru shouted. "Circumvent the safety grid and release the program now! That digimon is a ticking time bomb! _Apply!"_

**###**

The fog was thickening down below on the streets to the point that visibility had become virtually zero. Henry couldn't see them, but he heard the sounds of cars honking loudly and people shouting at each other. His skin broke out in Goosebumps and he shuddered.

_The digimon had to have already bio-emerged,_ he thought, yet his feet refused to so much as budge from their spot on the bridge. His heart was pounding loudly in his chest, and it felt as though his entire body was baking in an oven.

_I'm scared,_ he thought in realization. Fear rooted him to where he stood. Fear about what might happen to Terriermon; about what might happen to others caught in the crossfire.

Fear…that he might enjoy it.

"I realize how nice the view is from up here, but how long do you think it'll stay this way if we don't check it out?" asked Terriermon. Without even waiting for an answer, Terriermon hopped off his partner's head and ran down the railing of the bridge.

"Hey, Terriermon! _Wait!"_ Henry shouted, chasing after his wayward partner, his feet finally finding a reason to break free from their paralysis.

"Come on, Henry!" Terriermon called over his shoulder, taking a turn on the railing and descending down the steps that led to the street below. Putting on an extra burst of speed, Henry lunged forward and grabbed his partner by the ear, eliciting a cry of pain from his partner as he snapped to a halt.

"Gotcha!"

"Hey! That hurt!"

"We've got to go home _now!"_ Henry said sternly, but removed his grip from Terriermon's ear. Inside, he felt terrible for having done so, but what choice did he have? _If he ran into that digital field…_

"What?!" Terriermon looked up at him, eyes going wide with shock.

"We're going _home,"_ Henry said more sternly to get his point across.

"Wait a minute," Terriermon said, turning around to face him more fully. "Don't tell me you've changed your mind about Suzie and the tutu 'cause I won't do it!"

To prove his point, he made another start down the railing, but once again Henry's hands proved to be the quicker, snatching hold of his partner's ear and almost causing him to fall off the railing in the process.

"Henry! Let me go! I want to see it!"

"Terriermon, how many times do I have to tell you?"

"Mo…Momentai!" Terriermon replied, tugging against Henry's grip as a man and a woman raced up the stairs. They caught sight of the scene o the pair and quickened their pace to put as much distance as possible.

"Did you see that?" Henry heard the man ask in a hushed whisper.

"I hope not!" the woman replied before they disappeared out of earshot. Henry grimaced. The longer they stayed out here, the greater the chance that there was going to be trouble of some kind. They _had_ to get moving!

"Wil you stop?" he asked, tightening his grasp on Terriermon's ear in an effort to make him stop trying to get away. Once Terriermon quit resisting, he picked him up, this time more gently, and looked him in the eye with a sad expression. "Why don't we let someone _else_ handle this for a change?"

With that, he set Terriermon atop his head again, hoping that would be message enough to get him to sit still so they could get out of here.

There was suddenly a blast of gold lightning from the fog, causing Henry to stumble and fall back onto the steps. Wind cascaded over the two and the fog blew apart, revealing nothing save for a street full of people and cars.

"Whoa…" Terrieron breathed as the traffic lights changed from red to green once more, allowing traffic to flow easily again.

"What…just happened?" Henry wondered, getting back to his feet while one hand went up to steady his partner on his head. He sniffed the air and winced at the scent of ozone, but as it appeared, there was nothing more to be worried about.

"Guess someone else handled it," Terriermon said.

**###**

"Confirmed! Yuggoth has found the Wild One!" Yolei reported, her scanners having picked the digimon up on its sensors again. On the screen, the red dot that represented the digimon was running from a triangle of three orbs of that sped toward it. She wondered…did it sense the power behind the program?

_Weaponized programs,_ she thought with cold realization. _If this works, Digidestined have just become obsolete._

"Make sure it's completely destroyed," Takeru said from down below, flicking his lighter closed with a loud snap. "I want nothing left!"

Yolei glanced at Takeru before inputing the commands. "Yes sir."

Watching the monitors, the Yuggoth icon impacted with the digimon, and their signals went dead.

"Termination of Wild One is confirmed," Yolei reported, doing a quick scan of the area. Down below, Takeru nodded and flicked his lighter open.

"Tally, get me an analysis of the impact on the real world right away. Plus all the data you've got on the point of termination."

He flicked his lighter closed.

"The door is closed," he said quietly to himself. "I won't let anymore of you Nightmare Soldiers through. This is the end of the line for you."

Starting to turn away, he flicked his lighter open, only to stop as a pained, tattered voice suddenly boomed through the room.

_"I will…have my…"_ it began, causing Takeru to spin around in an attempt to find its source.

"It's coming from the network!" Yolei said, detecting an incoming stream of data. "It's the digimon! It survived Yuggoth somehow!"

"No…" Takeru gaped, the lighter falling closed with a loud click to the digimon's final words.

_"…revenge._


	59. Episode 11: Beneath the Ripples of Water

_Revenge…_

The word resounded through Musyamon's thoughts, draping a red haze over everything he knew. For as long as he could remember, it _defined_ him; gave his life shape and meaning. Now it _drew_ him back together, reformed his body from the scattering of data particles that had nearly been blown completely apart.

_The humans did this,_ he thought, gnashing his teeth together, one hand tightening upon the hilt of his still-reforming sword. _They've been learning… It's no wonder that we lost the war with them._

The very thought sent anger raging through his core. To think that they actually _lost_ to this pitiful excuse of a species…that _Devidramon_ – his friend and comrade in arms – had died to them so shamefully to their weakness was beyond tolerance.

_Revenge…_

No mon could live under the same sky as the killer of their comrade. Nor could one live above that sky, knowing that the killer still lived. Be it in data or in blood, there would be a redress of wrongs this day.

His body finally coalescing together and solidifying, Musyamon swept his massive katana free from its scabbard and bellowed toward the blue orb of the Earth above him, affirming his oath to have vengeance…

…or die trying.

**###**

The air around the street had smoothed out and people were calm again, the fog and the risk of a digimon breaching into the real world had vanished. Occasionally some passersby threw an odd glance at Terriermon as he and Henry strode by – and an even fewer number did their best to get as much space between them as possible – but the mood was a vast improvement from before.

Except for one thing, or rather a person. The boy who was his Tamer.

"Hey Henry," Terriermon began, finally tired of the silence between them. "You never explained why you wouldn't let me fight before. What's up with that?"

Henry took a turn up some stairs, his grey-eyes distant and thoughtful. "Nothing's up," he protested. "I just don't want you to fight, okay?"

Terriermon sighed. _You're dodging the question, Henry,_ he thought. He would have said so out loud, but chose otherwise.

Every so often, Terriermon would show tact, if only to prove to Henry that he understood it.

However, his mouth very often betrayed him by having thoughts of its own.

"Rika was right. You _are_ starting to sound like a broken record."

"Leave her out of this." Scowling, Henry walked past a small flock of pigeons, pecking at the sidewalk in their search for food. He twisted his fingers in his pockets before finally breaking his silence on the topic, understanding that Terriermon was going to keep needling him until he said _something._

"It's just…on the net digimon only exist to do battle."

He paused in his stride and looked over at Terriermon, who cocked his head at him in confusion, not understanding where he was coming from.

"So because I'm here now, you want me to lay around like a house pet? Is that right?"

"Are you going to let me explain or not?" Henry bristled before suddenly looking ashamed at the flare of his temper. Terriermon felt his heart drop as the boy turned away.

"Henry, you once told me that my very existence in the real world was wrong. Is that still true? Is that how you feel about me?"

When Henry didn't answer right away, the long-eared digimon hopped off his shoulder and turned his back to his partner. His arms sagged a little, feeling as though a great weight had landed upon them.

"Because if it is, I'll sign up for the Ms. Pretty Pants Treatment right now," he choked out, feeling a great well of sadness well up in the core of his being. "You just say the word."

"Hey," Henry said, dropping down to his knees and taking hold of him gently. "You know that's not what I meant. We're a team."

"Then…why won't you tell me what's bothering you? If we're a team, we're supposed to help each other, right? You're not letting me help you if you're not talking to me."

Henry stiffened at that but soon relaxed, though it took considerable effort. Picking his partner up, he set him back on his head.

"It's just…difficult to explain," he said.

"You always make it sound that way," Terriermon replied, pressing his lips together. "When I first came into this world, the first thing I saw was you, crying over me and saying you weren't ever going to let me fight again. I didn't understand it then but…did…something happen that day? I mean…I was just… I'm not exactly like your average Terriermon you know."

Henry nodded reluctantly, thinking back to that day when his life had changed so drastically. Terriermon was an… _anomaly,_ as described by Hypnos in much the same way that Guilmon was an anomaly. He was a digimon, technically speaking, but he hadn't been born in the digital world. Rather, he was just one of many choice digimon in a game his father had bought him for Christmas last year…

**###**

_"Mom! Look what Dad bought me!" came the voice of Jaarin, his older sister as she held up a sports jersey._

_Henry looked up and smiled as she showed it off to their mother, laughing as their little sister, Suzie, raced up, holding a great big box in her hand._

_"Mommy!" she pleaded. "Open it! Just don't hurt the ribbon!"_

_"Hey, hey!" came the excited hoot of Rinchei, his older brother, behind him, no doubt excited by the new sneakers he had gotten for his gift. Looking down, Henry tore off the paper around his package and his eyes went wide with glee as he found blue and red packaging beneath, with the label,_ Digimon: Digital Monsters _emblazoned on its surface. "Wow! It's the new digimon game!" he exclaimed, shooting up from his seat._

_"Yep," Janyu chuckled with a note of pride. "Hot off the press. I had to wait in line for hours to get it."_

_Hugging it close to his chest like a cherished friend, he bowed politely to his father, though his body quivered with excitement._

_"Thank you, Dad. You're the best!"_

_Henry didn't waste any time retreating into the solitude of his room. Tearing apart the box, he quickly liberated the game and slid it into his computer's disk drive. The download bar appeared on the screen and Henry scowled upon seeing the amount of time required. Almost a full hour!_

Just what did they put in this thing? _he wondered, lifting up the box and checking the back contents._ Wow… _His eyes rose up in surprise._ Look at all these new options! And the AI is supposed to be entirely new and very challenging!

_He felt that excitement wash over him again, and he looked up at the progress bar._

_Still so much time to wait before he could play…_

_**###** _

_After what felt like an eternity, the game finished loading and Henry quickly launched it. After sitting through the intro cinematic, a list of digimon populated his screen and he ran his hand over his chin thoughtfully._

All right… Now who will I play first? _His gaze slid down to a giant, ape-like digimon with a mechanical cannon attached to one arm._ One who's got a lot of power like Gorillamon? _He quickly scoffed at the idea._ Nah. That's boring. Anyone can win with a big digimon. _Changing the curser he moved over to a different one, smaller with and with long ears._ Now Terriermon… That's a challenge.

_He clicked on the icon, and a digi-egg appeared. It quickly morphed into the long-eared rabbit-dog digimon, smirking as it set its black eyes on him._

_He had to admit, he liked the look of Terriermon's stats in this game. He had a good combination of speed and power for a Rookie, albeit not as good as the higher end types like Renamon, and could not be unlocked without playing all the way through the first time around (unless, of course, one preordered, which his father had not been able to do). That was fine though. He preferred Terriermon over Renamon anyway. He couldn't explain it, but there was just something about that cold look in the vixen's eyes that didn't quite mesh very well with him._

_As he watched, Terriermon did a little dance along the screen before abruptly leaving a trail of poop behind him. Looking ashamed, the rabbit-dog digimon pulled a rope that appeared above him, causing the mess to vanish with a flush._

_Henry burst out laughing in response. "How cute."_

_That had been where it all began. That one conscious choice that propelled him forward._

**###**

Night fell as Joe finished checking in with Sora again. The woman was tired, having donated a considerable amount of energy to Biyomon again to keep her going, and as such was presently asleep.

Joe sighed, making a note of her blood pressure before draping her blankets over her again and disconnecting the wires from her chest that were plugged into her digivice. He resisted the urge to yawn. He needed to sleep as well, but he couldn't. At least not yet. Not with the way things were for Biyomon. He…

"Are they all right?"

Turning, Joe found Mimi and Palmon standing in the doorway, the former with one hand resting on the wall and a worried look on her face.

Joe smiled warmly at her before nodding.

"They're doing fine so far," he said before his expression fell a little. "Although I sure wish that this virus that's infected Biyomon would hurry up and delete already."

"It's that bad?"

"Well…I wouldn't say it's _bad_ at this point so much as it's just stubborn. We've injected Biyomon with 20 CC's of Sophratic AA Antivirus and the Plus B patch which is normally enough to kill most digimon viruses of this nature and…" He paused and looked back at Mimi before frowning at the sudden wince on her face. "Sorry. I forgot that you don't understand nerd-speak."

"No, it's not…" Mimi pressed her lips together. "Well… Yeah, I don't, but it's not that. I just…" One hand rose to her stomach, and she touched it tenderly. "I miss my own little nerd right now."

Joe tilted his head to one side in confusion before remembering about Izzy and Matt's disappearance from their trip to the Moon. He thought about trying to assure her that they were all right, but his own pessimistic nature rose up, and he clamped his mouth shut against it. Adjusting his glasses, he gestured to the chairs.

"I…uh…understand that you're pregnant," he coughed politely, trying to change the subject. "Congratulations. How far along are you?"

"I'm eight weeks along now," Mimi smiled, brushing her hair out of her eyes while a faint tinge of red colored her cheeks. "I…picked up on it when I missed my period. I tried to keep it a secret from Izzy…so I could surprise him when he came home from space, but…well…"

"You always did speak your mind," Joe laughed lightly.

Palmon paced around the room, peeking under the bed before frowning. "Where's Gomamon?" she asked.

"He's downstairs helping with the physical therapy patients," Joe replied. "Mostly as a motivator, but he's gotten pretty good at helping out outside of that." He chuckled again. "He says all he did was watch me. Not sure how that helped. All I ever did was drive myself crazy."

"That's because you're a good doctor," Palmon beamed before glancing at Mimi. "Hey. Maybe you should examine Mimi so you can make sure that there aren't any complications."

"Hm?" Joe raised an eyebrow at that. "But…doesn't she already have a doctor for that?"

Mimi raised an eyebrow at her partner too before seeing the way Joe was holding himself; the tension in how he sat.

"Ohhh…" she laughed, leaning back. "I see now. Palmon sees that you're having nervous troubles right now. Can't settle down because of Sora."

"Am I that easy to read?" Joe groaned, though the grin on his face spoke of good humor. "Yeah, I guess I am," he continued to Mimi and Palmon's nodding. With a groan, he stood up. "All right. Let's find a place to set up and then we'll see what we shall see."

"Can I have a doctor's mask?" Palmon squealed, throwing her arms up into the air. "I've been wanting to try one on ever since Mimi told me about her pregnancy."

"Um…sure?" Joe replied, raising an eyebrow at her. With a cry of excitement, white light suddenly enveloped Palmon, causing the two Digidestined to shield their eyes and cry out in surprise as a sphere of data surrounded the plant digimon. A cry of _Warp Digivolution_ later and the shell shattered, green wings spreading out as Lillymon revealed herself in all her glory.

"I'm all set, doctor," she winked, causing a baffled Joe to turn to Mimi for an explanation.

"She's _very_ excited about helping with the delivery," she said. "She's been studying to be a midwife since week two."

"Oh…" Joe scratched the back of his head before shrugging. It wouldn't be the first time that a digimon volunteered to do nurse work. After all, they had an Angewomon do the same during the war before she had to return to the digital world, along with so many others that had been their allies. "Okay. Just…next time don't digivolve _inside_ the hospital. Togemon aside, you could have blown a number of our equipment here."

"Oops," Lillymon blushed. Now it was her turn to rub the back of her head in embarrassment. "Sorry about that."

**###**

Henry sat in the tub at his home, staring listlessly up at the ceiling as he thought about the day, Terriermon's question still playing through his mind.

_"You never explained why you wouldn't let me fight before. What's up with that?"_

Leaning forward, he splashed water onto his face, trying to forget the question and the day. Indeed, he wanted to forget _everything_ following the events of Takato and Rika's brawl in the park. What took place between those two and everything that followed after it was _every_ reason why he didn't want Terriermon to fight.

He paused in the splashing of water and looked down at his hands.

_These hands… The ones that caused so much hurt…_ he thought, memory tickling once more at the back of his mind, causing them to shake a little. He heard a loud _snap_ in his memory and he thrust his hands under water, furiously splashing the water onto his face again to drown the rest out. He did it again, and again, and again, until, finally, he sat there, breathing heavily, water dripping off his face and onto his reflection.

Those storm-grey eyes stared right back at him, clouds of blame and darkness within them.

"I just don't want you to fight, okay?" he said to his reflection, the ghost of Terriermon's face floating before him. "I don't want you to be like…IceDevimon."

As if on command, the visage of the demonic digimon appeared in front of him, a hungry smirk on his face. Water splashed as Henry punched a fist at it before frowning, mentally berating himself for such childish behavior.

"I won't be like that," he said to the quiet of the bathroom. "I _won't."_

**###**

Terriermon sat on the bed, staring at the computer across from him. Normally he would be playing on the computer, but after today he just couldn't summon up the desire to do so. Not with how things were between himself and Henry.

_Why won't he talk to me about what's wrong?_ he thought. _I don't get it. He doesn't want to fight, but you'd think after Mephistomon and IceDevimon he'd have wizened up a little._

This was more than just a dislike for fighting in general. This was personal for the boy. Something had caught hold of him and was holding him back. It couldn't be IceDevimon as far as he was concerned. The two were far too different for Henry to be rattled the way Rika had been.

_With the number of digimon coming through, I don't think we can avoid fighting even if we both wanted to. This isn't just about my nature anymore. There's trouble coming down the road. I can feel it._

He flopped back onto the bed, feeling more than a little helpless with the situation.

"I'm going to have to fight sometime. But when?"

As if in response, the door to the room drew open, and in popped Suzie Wong, with a Cheshire cat smile on her face.

"There you are, Tewwiermon!" she chirped as Terriermon squawked in sudden terror. He _knew_ that look.

As she strode over to him and picked him up, Terriermon briefly wondered if _this_ was the time to fight.

**###**

While Terriermon's screams could be heard from his room, Henry paid them no mind as he stepped out onto the porch, drinking from the milk carton. He felt somewhat refreshed from his bath, at least physically. Mentally however was another story. His heart remained heavy, and even now it felt like there was something _unclean_ inside him that he just couldn't scrub off.

The game. Around and around, his mind always kept coming back to the game…and worse, but the game was there, ever at the forefront of his thoughts.

_Terriermon's first battle in it was against a Gorillamon,_ he thought. _I wonder if the universe was trying to play a joke on me… Have a laugh at my expense. At least Terriermon is easier to hide and not as threatening looking._

He briefly wondered what life would be like if he _had_ become Tamer to a Gorillamon…

The thought vanished. Winking out of existence as his eyes spotted something over on the next roof. A familiar shape silhouetted against the night sky, only just barely visible and he choked as he swallowed milk down the wrong tube in his surprise.

"Huh?!" Running up to the railing, he leaned forward to get a better look. Yes, his eyes hadn't been deceiving him. _She_ was here.

"Renamon!" he exclaimed, and as if she had been waiting for him to say her name, she somersaulted into the air, her lithe figure framed against the moonlight. She wasn't even trying to stay hidden. The way she had stood on the other side and then moved to become _more_ visible.

This was an invitation of some sort, though of what he couldn't say.

Without thinking, he crushed the carton of milk and rushed back inside.

"I'm going to get some more milk!" he announced, continuing to ignore Terriermon's pleas for mercy from Suzie. "I'll be right back!"

Not waiting to see if anyone had heard him, he ran over to the door and threw on his jacket and shoes before rushing out the door.  
 **###**

Renamon landed heavily on the sign post before coming to a landing on the streets below with an angry grunt. She wasn't bothering to be subtle about her movements or even attempting to be silent. Anger thrummed inside her and she was more than happy to take it out on the unfeeling human constructs she was surrounded with. They were… _cold_ after all. Like _him._

Like IceDevimon.

A part of her rather enjoyed the idea that she was beating on him, even if it actually wasn't the case.

She glanced over her shoulder to find the Tamer pedaling after her on his bicycle, light shining at its front.

_Good,_ she thought, taking off at a run. She took care to remain in sight of him, knowing how easy it was for humans – even well-trained ones – to lose track of her. Still, she couldn't help but put a little more power into her legs, pushing more speed out of her. She felt angry enough for it, and she wanted to at least be _civil_ with the Tamer once she brought him to a more private location.

"Catch me if you can," she said, a touch of cold anger making itself known in her voice.

With it though, was the silent whisper of hope that he would be able to answer the questions burning in her heart.


	60. Episode 11: Uncertainty

Rika sat at the dinner table, poking half-heartedly at her food with her chopsticks.

"Is everything all right dear?" Seiko asked across from her, eyeing the girl worriedly.

"I'm not very hungry," she replied, setting her chopsticks down, earning her a raised eyebrow from her mother.

"Are you feeling sick?" she asked, only for Rika to shake her head wordlessly and get up from her seat.

"I'm going to bed early," she said, heading off, leaving the two women to look at each other in confusion.

"Well…" began Rumiko, a bit flustered. "We'll put your food away so you can have some more later if you get hungry again."

Rika didn't reply as she disappeared down a corner, heading for her room. Alone with her mother, Rumiko sighed and leaned her head into one hand despondently.

_"If she gets hungry again,"_ she sighed, berating herself mentally for how ridiculous that sounded. "Of course she's going to get hungry again." She pressed her lips together and looked at her mother. "Maybe we should take her to a doctor? This isn't normally like her. You made her favorite food tonight."

Seiko dropped her eyes down to Rika's untouched meal – eggplant with liver casserole with a side of gizzards – and her expression softened.

"I'm sure she's upset about Sora and Biyomon," she said after a moment.

A pained look crossed Rumiko's face before nodding. They had both heard about the incident in the news. Famed Digidestined and lead fashion designer injured in a fight with a wild digimon. Rumiko cursed herself for being so forgetful about how much Sora meant to her daughter.

"I should take Rika to visit her," she said after a minute. "Besides giving us some quality time together, maybe it'll help seeing her."

"Maybe," Seiko said, taking a sip from her tea, though a part of her couldn't help but wonder what the _real_ situation was.

_Rika is partnered with a digimon as well. Had she been there? Or did she not make it in time and now blames herself for what happened?_

She tried to give her granddaughter her space, not wanting to pry into her personal life – though it was really Rumiko's responsibility in either case, even she sometimes felt that her wayward daughter could be a bit…unobservant in that regard – but she couldn't help but wonder whether or not she should reveal Rika's late night preoccupations.

She swallowed some eggplant and took another sip of tea to wash it down. She considered the thought, rolling it around in her mind for a moment before sighing mentally.

No. She wouldn't reveal it just yet. Sora had advised her that this was something best left to Rika. She wasn't certain she could rely solely on her judgment, but for now…she would trust her.

_I'll keep a close eye on her,_ she thought, taking another sip from her tea.

**###**

Rika quickly replaced her day clothes with her pajamas and, after turning out the light, slid beneath the blankets of her futon, feeling utterly dispirited. The darkness felt so empty and vast. The presence of Renamon was…absent from the room, something that made her feel even more depressed.

_It's my fault though,_ she thought, her face tensing up a little. _It's not like I was trying to make friends last night. I know I definitely didn't make any._

Her hand curled around the top of her blanket, still feeling a bit sore from when she had punched the Gogglehead – Takato – something that only added to her depression. Her hand tightened so much that it shook.

_Who needs them anyway?_

The thought felt hollow though; as empty as the darkness of her room. Renamon's absence stung, and that…was the worst part about Renamon's betrayal.

She blinked, hearing some rustling off by her wastebasket. Sitting up, she looked around, her eyes wide as she tried to see through the darkness.

"Renamon?" she called out instinctively, cursing herself for the sudden excitement at the thought of seeing the gold-furred kitsune again. Much to her relief – and disappointment – the familiar white-creampuff of a digimon, Calumon, tumbled into view as the wastebasket fell over, holding her digivice and card box in his tiny paws.

"Nope!" he chirped. "Just me."

His ears spread out questioningly as he hefted the two objects. "How come you threw this away, huh? How come?"

Rika suddenly became angry at the sight of the tiny digimon holding her things, her disgust swelling in her chest.

"Get out of my room you overgrown rat!" she snapped, causing Calumon's ears to shrink back into his head.

"You're…not happy, are you?" he asked, unable to understand what was going on. The digivice and cards shouldn't have been thrown away, and Rika had rejected her digimon partner. It made no sense to him.

His ears expanded suddenly and a smile bloomed on his face, trying to dispel the darkness in the girl's heart.

_"Hey!"_ he exclaimed suddenly, flying on over to her and landing in the middle of her futon. "Let's play! That'll make you happy!"

Rika stared at Calumon in bewilderment. This digimon just could not take a hint no matter how many times she shooed him away. It was almost as if she needed to _kick_ him to get the message across.

"Oh please…!" Unwilling to resort to such a barbaric act, Rika simply grabbed hold of her blanket and gave a hard _yank,_ sending Calumon tumbling to the floor on the other side as she turned onto her side and buried herself in her futon's warm embrace.

_"Leave me alone!"_ she threw out, just for good measure.

She heard Calumon settle down in front of her again, and she looked up to see him placing her things by her side before looking up at her with expectant eyes.

"Maybe later this'll make you…" There was that smile again. "… _happy~!"_

Singing _happy_ over and over while hopping up and down excitedly, he abruptly jumped into the air and spun before coming to rest by her futon again, looking at her with a bright, eager face.

"How about now?" he asked. "Well?"

Rika stared at the diminutive creampuff digimon for a moment before settling back down beneath the blankets. Oddly enough, she let out a relieved sigh and a small smile crept across her face, barely visible in the darkness.

He wasn't Renamon, but for some reason his presence was…comforting.

"Fine, you can stay," she told him. "Just…don't make too much noise, okay?"

_"Yaaay!"_ Calumon squealed. Rika sighed at the noise and craned her head over at her digivice and cards, considering their presence and everything they meant to her.

**###**

Henry took a long drink from the park's water fountain, the sound of his bike buzzing from a still-spinning wheel, a sign of his exertions. He certainly felt wasted chasing Renamon down, wondering why she went to such an extreme chase if she wanted to talk to him in the first place.

_Probably trying to work off her anger in a constructive way,_ he thought, pulling away. _Better than fighting I suppose. For some reason Terriermon feels he has to fight. It's probably the same for Renamon too. Probably for all digimon in fact. My dad did say that when he was working on the digimon project in college, he and his friends gave them individual attacks. They probably didn't think much of it then, but now… Now I feel like I have to purposefully put my friend in danger to help him with that. But…why would I want to do that at all? If anything happened to him because of me…like it did before…_

In his mind's eye, he saw a human boy, clutching at his arm and screaming in pain. His hands drew up into fists that he forced himself to release.

_…I'd never forgive myself,_ his thoughts finished. Taking a deep breath to steady his mind, he turned around and looked up at Renamon. She hadn't moved from her spot on the swing set since they arrived at the park, nor had she said a word, instead contenting herself with looking up at the night sky. He thought back to their first battle in the parking garage, and how Gargomon had ran out of control, shooting everything, blowing up cars, nearly getting all of them killed…

Why would _anyone_ want that?

_"You never explained why you wouldn't let me fight before. What's up with that?"_

_You just don't understand Terriermon. This is more than about you. I'm your Tamer. I can't even control myself. How can I expect to control you?_

"Until recently," Renamon began, finally breaking her silence, "I thought my only purpose here in the real world was to destroy it and fight and load the data of those I defeated." Henry winced at her mention of destroying the human world, but chose not to comment on it. "Digivolving and vanguishing the enemies of the Nightmare Soldiers were the only things that made me feel worthy. And Rika? Her only attachment to me was as a Tamer who could make me _stronger."_ She turned her face away from the heavens and looked down at Henry who now approached her. "But…now I'm not so sure."

"There's _more_ to existence than just fighting," Henry replied. "There's _got_ to be a bigger reason why we were chosen to be Tamers in the first place. Maybe you and Rika needed each other in some way that went beyond just being a means to digivolve you."

Unsatisfied with that answer, Renamon stood up and turned her back to him and folding her arms over her chest. Turning her gaze up toward the moon, she _harrumphed._

"It would help both of us if we could just figure that out!" Henry pleaded. "What do you think?"

Silence from the vulpine digimon was his response, causing the half-Chinese Tamer to frown. "Renamon? Hello?"

"Tell me something, human," she began once the boy was ready to give up on her answering, only for him to cough politely in interruption.

"My name's Henry," he said. "At the very least, if we're going to talk to each other, it should be as something other than 'digimon' and 'human'."

"Either way," she said, turning back toward him with smooth grace. "Why is it important for there to _be_ something more to our partnerships than just as a means to digivolve and do battle?"

"Because there are always reasons for something," Henry replied. "The digital world doesn't hand out digivices for no reason. Especially since our two worlds are caught up in a symbiotic relationship. What happens to one affects the other. For our two worlds to coexist, there needs to be peace and harmony."

"My reason is simple," Renamon said coldly. "The Nightmare Soldiers desired someone to increase my power. Rika wanted a way to go to the digital world. _That_ is why we were partnered. You speak as if the digital world were alive."

"Isn't it?" Henry reposted. "What _is_ life. Before I was born…and even years before that, no one would have thought that data could be alive. We're used to thinking of life as being like…like us. Sure, we've thought of artificial intelligence, but like you? You're not like anything we could have imagined. And the stories that the Digidestined have told us about all the forces in the digital world – the essences of light and darkness…we have to go back to our mythology for that. We have to go back to _stories."_

"For a moment, I thought I was talking to your goggle-wearing friend," Renamon remarked. Henry scowled at her.

"Look, there's nothing easy about this conversation. All I'm saying is maybe you should try thinking outside the box. There's a lot more about the world – the _universe –_ than what we know." His expression softened. "I'll admit I don't know how to help you. There's a lot I'm still trying to work out myself about myself and Terriermon. I…" He hesitated before continuing. "This…might sound like a strange question but…why _do_ you fight?"

"Why?" Renamon cocked an eyebrow at him questioningly. "Why don't you fight?"

"I just…" He pressed his lips together furtively. "Because…once…I hurt someone I was friends with really bad." Unable to meet Renamon's gaze, he looked down and shuddered at the memory.

"You injured Terriermon?" Renamon asked. Henry shook his head.

"No. It was…someone else. You wouldn't know him. You don't know this, but I train in the martial arts. Tai chi to be more specific. One day, we got to horsing around when the teacher wasn't around and…"

_"Henry! Stop! It hurts! You're going to…!"_

He could still hear it all too clearly. His friend's desperate pleas before it dissolved into screaming. He could feel it too, the way the bone snapped between his hands as he gave a sharp, sudden twist, and then it went limp in his arms at a horrible angle. He had meant it to be playful – to scare his friend a little before letting him up. He hadn't meant to…!

Henry felt bile rise in his throat, but he swallowed it back down along with the memory. Renamon tilted her head to one side, taking in his unfinished sentence.

"I see. This friend of yours… Is he still around?"

"I haven't seen him since then," he replied, taking a careful breath, though the pain of his absence still colored his features. "The last thing I heard was that he moved away. I haven't been able to find him online either."

He could almost hear Terriermon joke about how the digital world must have swallowed him.

_Terriermon…_ he thought instinctively before mentally slapping himself.

"Anyway," he resumed. "That's why I don't like to fight. Well…one of the reasons why. Terriermon is the second one."

Renamon furrowed her brow at him. "What a pointless reason to have for not fighting," she said before vanishing into thin air, leaving Henry to gawk at the spot where she had stood a moment before. Spinning around, he scanned the night sky for any sign of the vulpine digimon before quickly giving up, not finding her at all.

_"Sheesh,"_ he heard Terriermon say in his mind. _"She could have at least said goodbye or something."_

_Terriermon…_

**###**

Suzie snored quietly, indicating that she had at long last fallen asleep, tired out from her terrorizing of Terriermon, or more accurately, pretending Terriermon was a baby and treating him as such; changing his diaper and forcing him to drink milk straight from a baby bottle.

_I can't believe Henry just lets her do that,_ the long-eared digimon grumbled, tugging on his ear as gently as he could so as to not disturb her rest. Presently, she slept on it, and the painful tingling present within the appendage indicated that it was about ready to fall asleep along with her. Finally, after numerous failures to easily dislodge himself from her back, he gambled on waking her and broke free, falling off her bed in the process with a squawk. He lay there on the ground for the briefest of moments to see what her reaction was. Upon hearing her continued snoring, he hopped back up on the bed. Taking hold of her blanket, he tucked her in.

"She's sure a lot cuter when she's asleep," he said quietly before jumping back off the bed. Padding out of Henry's room, he closed the door gently.

"Hey Terriermon," came the voice of Mayumi, Henry's mother. "Has the little princess finally become tuckered out?"

"Finally," Terriermon said with an exasperated groan. "Seriously, I'm starting to think she needs a digimon of her own to terrorize because this tutu stuff is becoming really annoying."

Upon seeing the disconcerted look at the thought of her baby girl becoming a Tamer, Terriermon raised his paws in a placating manner.

"Momentai! I'm just kidding. Is Henry around?"

"He went out to get some milk," Mayumi replied, stepping around the digimon to go fetch Suzie and take her to her room. "He should be back soon."

"Figures he abandoned me to Princess Pretty Pants' reign of terror," Terriermon huffed. His ears twitched upon hearing the door open and Henry announcing his arrival. He quickly scampered on over.

"It's about time!" he said to Henry as he took off his shoes. "Where's the milk?"

Henry glanced up, eyebrows raised before groaning. "I…forgot…"

"You went out to get milk and came back empty handed because you _forgot?!_ What'd you do? Hit your head and get amnesia?"

"No," Henry shook his head. "I met…" Sighing, he gestured to his shoulder indicatively. Taking the hint, Terriermon hopped up and quickly wrapped his ears around him securely.

"Taking Terriermon for a walk!" Henry called out, earning him an annoyed look from his partner.

"What am I? A dog?"

"You're based on one, aren't you?"

"Well… Yeah, but…" Terriermon squinted at him irritably. "Okay, fine. You win this one, Henry. But next time _you've_ got to do the Princess Pretty Pants routine."

Henry exited the apartment and made his way down the hall, hands in his pockets while Terriermon eyed him quizzically.

"So what's up?"

"I met Renamon out there," he replied. "She seems pretty confused."

"Of course she's confused!" Terriermon exclaimed incredulously. "What's _not_ to be confused about when you're working with Rika! Well, except she's not anymore since Rika kicked her out, but still…"

"Terriermon…"

"Oh, all right, fine! I'll be nice, but I still think those two are weird. Trying to figure them out is like trying to find a partner for Calumon. Or figuring out what it was Growlmon had between his toes when we painted him…"

"Very funny." He was silent as they entered the elevator. The doors closed behind them and they began their descent.

"My ears just popped," Terriermon noted, fluffing one. "Every time."

"Terriermon. You remember when you came into the real world."

"Is this a trick question?"

"It wasn't even a question."

"You were crying on me and I told you to knock it off because the stuff was cold."

Henry nodded. "Renamon was asking why I don't want you fighting." He glanced at his partner. "Terriermon…why _do_ you want to fight? What's the point?"

"What's the point of fighting?" Terriermon asked before shrugging at Henry's nod. "To kick some booty, duh!"

"But why?"

"Why what? You don't ask that sort of thing. Sometimes it's just fun to get into a tussle with someone, and I like a good tussle as much as anyone. You had all those games when I bio-emerged, so you've got to understand that." He tapped his chin thoughtfully as a thought came to him. "Come to think of it though, you haven't touched them since I came here. I haven't seen you touch them anyway. Do you?"

"No," Henry shook his head. "I'm afraid I might get another you."

"Hey!"

"I didn't mean that as an insult, Terriermon. It's just…" He sighed. "I don't know what to expect. You came right out of the game I was playing! If it happened with you…if _you_ could come alive…"

"Simmer down, Henry," Terriermon interrupted, giving his partner a soft hug with his ears. "Didn't you tell me once that was because of whatever programming went into the game's AI? It borrowed from stuff your dad used? How many games use that?"

Henry frowned, though he felt a pang of fear start to worm its way through his stomach.

"Good question," Henry said as the door to the lobby _dinged_ open. "Just how _many_ use that algorithm?"

Stepping out, he heard a loud _barking_ noise. Turning, he saw a woman enter the elevator he just vacated, a hand-held computer in her hand. On its screen was a small, white-furred dog with floppy ears and a happy doggy smile on its face, barking excitedly.

_The V-Pet,_ Henry thought in recognition as the elevator doors slid shut.


	61. Episode 11: Gladiator Coliseum

Another school day, another ringing of the bell to signal its end. Henry exited the front door, not really paying attention to the throng of students that excitedly raced out in their hurry to get home. Hearing a sudden rush of feet, he stepped aside, allowing a whole crowd of them to go storming by. He watched them go for a moment, envying their carefree attitude for the world.

_The things that they don't know,_ he thought, tightening one hand into a fist before releasing it. Preparing to get going again, eager to see his partner, who was presently entertaining a bunch of students atop the wall by doing hand-stands, he paused, spying Takato simply standing in the middle of the school yard, eyes raised toward the sky. Frowning slightly out of curiosity, he started towards his fellow Tamer.

"Hey, what're you doing out here" he asked. "Have you taken up bird watching or something?"

"I was hoping another digimon would show up," Takato said eagerly, not bothering to turn toward his companion. "I'm ready for another battle!"

"Huh?" Henry raised an eyebrow at him in surprise. Did he hear him right?

"I want to use that combination on Guilmon again!" Takato continued, an excited smile blooming across his face.

Henry sighed inwardly, his arched eyebrow lowering. "I think you need a vacation," he said. "You're starting to sound like Rika."

"Huh?" Takato blinked, turning toward him. However, before he could say or do anything, the call of Kazu interrupted them.

"There you are!" Kazu crowed, rushing toward them. An arm swept out and looped around Takato's neck, pulling him into a headlock. "Thought you could escape me, huh?"

"What do you… _want?!"_ Takato gasped, struggling to break his friend's grip.

"Revenge Takato!" Kazu grated, tightening his grip around the boy's neck, angry that he would even _dare_ to ask such a question. "For that _stupid_ combination you pulled on me yesterday! I want a rematch!"

"Yeah!" chimed in Kenta from next to him. "Apparently you think you're hot stuff now. Think you can take us again, big shot?"

"You sound pretty tough…from way over… _there,_ huh?" Takato growled. Raising his arms up between Kazu's, he pushed hard and abruptly broke free from Kazu's grasp. Crimson eyes blazing, he glared at his two longtime friends. They _dare_ question his ability? "I'll take you _both_ on! Anytime with whatever you've got!"

Kazu glared at the goggle-wearing boy and raised a fist challengingly. "I'm ready now! Say your prayers because you're going down!"

"Let's _go!"_ Takato shouted before a sudden burst of giggling cut across their conversation. Recognizing who that laughter belonged to, Takato blushed lightly and turned just in time to confirm his fear. Jeri Katou and her friend Miki Nakajima as they drew to a halt.

"Hey, don't you boys ever get tired of digimon?" Jeri asked, grinning at them. "That's all you talk about."

"Oh, you know, Jeri," mocked Miki, holding a hand to her mouth to cover her laugh. "Kids will be kids."

Takato's embarrassed blush deepened as Jeri joined in with her friend while Kazu and Kenta visibly fumed at the two girls.

"Maybe we are just kids, but at least we have a hobby!" the two shouted in unison. "Now scram!"

This only caused Jeri to laugh even harder, and for Takato's face to flush even darker than before. He felt the heat go all the way through his head and suffuse its way throughout his body. He shifted uneasily, his gaze trembling, searching for a spot to land that was anywhere but on the brown-haired girl.

"Come on, Miki," Jeri said to her friend, her smile wide and full with utter amusement at Kazu and Kenta's antics. "We have more _important_ things to do."

"Silly boys!" Miki shot at them as they turned away, leaving Kazu to _tsk_ and cross his arms together irritably.

_"Girls!"_ Kenta snorted. "I don't think I'll ever understand them."

Opting to forget about them now that they were leaving, Kazu turned to Takato, a bold smirk on his face.

"Well Chumly?" he prompted. "You ready?"

"Sure…yeah," Takato nodded reluctantly, his confidence having taken a bit of a plummet, but he was still raring to prove his skills against his childhood friend and rival once and for all. "Hey Henry," he called over to his fellow Tamer. "You coming along too?"

Takato blinked, not finding either him or Terriermon anywhere to be seen.

"Huh? Where'd he go?" he wondered aloud, looking around to try and find him.

"Hey!" called out Kazu as he and Kenta headed for the gate. "You growing roots? Or are you _scared?"_

"Very funny!" shot back Takato, starting after them, hesitating just long enough to cast a final, fruitless glance around before shrugging it off for later.

_He probably had something important to do._

**###**

"You sure bugged out of there pretty quick," Terriermon remarked from his spot on Henry's shoulder as they made their way down the street. "Are we going shopping?"

_"We_ are doing nothing," Henry replied, pausing to look at his partner. "You were supposed to stay home, remember?"

"I may never go home after what _she_ did!" Terriermon exclaimed, repressing a shudder from the memory of last night. "Suzie's chamber of horrors is worse than battling any digimon."

Henry sighed and shook his head, unable to argue with that. Still, he wished Terriermon had heeded his desire for him to stay home. The risk of him getting into a fight with a wild digimon was becoming increasingly more difficult to avoid.

_What're we going to do if one comes through and we have to fight it? Like that one time with Mephistomon?_ He repressed a shudder, not wanting to be reminded of how close they came to actually getting killed that day. An _Ultimate!_

_Takato would probably love the opportunity this time around,_ he thought, marveling at how quickly the role between Takato and the other Tamer, Rika had changed. Now it was _Rika_ of all people who wanted to avoid fighting while Takato eagerly sought them out to test his skill against.

_What is going on with him? Since when did he think that this turned into a game? It's not. I don't think it ever had been…_

He thought back to when he had been playing the game…back before Terriermon had bio-emerged into the real world. It had been sometime after the disastrous incident where he hurt his friend. Needing to blow off steam, he sat down to forget about the real world for a brief while and opened it up. Within short order, he was fighting a Gorillamon, the digimon he nearly chose when selecting his partner digimon for the first time. He was proving to be quite the powerful opponent, raining blast upon blast at Terriermon, who was barely dodging. The difference in level was obvious, but not insurmountable.

_"He's totally out of control. How's Terriermon supposed to beat him? He's too small! What should I do?"_ he remembered himself saying. Fighting through the panic, he analyzed his options. _"Modify cards… Terriermon, it's time to make you faster! Speed activate! Digi-modify!"_

With the card swipe, Terriermon's speed had gone up, and he had added a strength modifier to even the odds a little bit more. The battle seesawed back and forth, Henry swiping modify cards while Terriermon's combat skills improved. Unable to do the same and lacking Henry's tactical thinking, Gorillamon could only steadily lose by inches. With victory within his sights, he had swiped one last modify card to give Terriermon enough stamina to see the battle all the way to the end.

And then…digivolution.

He remembered the surprise and awe he felt when Terriermon inexplicably digivolved. He didn't know how he pulled it off or if it had even been him in the first place, but the tide had turned dramatically. Now all Gorillamon could do was _run_ as Gargomon chased after him, firing manically, laughing all the while with excitement. Henry remembered shooting up from his chair, pumping his fist into the air.

_"That's it! Yeah!"_

Yet, in his excitement he saw that Gargomon continued to chase Gorillamon down, despite the fact that all the fight was out of him now. He clicked the stop hotkey on his keyboard, only for it to fail as Gargomon's AI ran out of control.

_"Gargomon, what are you doing?"_ he had asked. _"You've already beaten him, just let him go."_

The gun-toting bunny continued to blast Gorillamon, punching holes through his body now as the Champion roared with pain. In those screams, he heard his friend from earlier doing the same, shouting at him to stop before he…

_Snap!_

_"You're just like me…"_ he whispered, falling back into his chair. _"I have no idea who you even are anymore. What have I done? It's all my fault…"_

He had been left in a dark mood for the rest of the day, something his father quickly picked up on and pressed him about after he snapped at his older sister's usual teasing, something he never did previously.

_"It's just how the program works. Son, I think you're taking all of this a little too seriously. The digimon in that game can't actually get hurt because they don't really exist. It's a game."_

_"Yeah… They're a bunch of zeroes and ones, right?"_

It seemed easy to say that. After all, it _was_ true. The digimon in the game weren't the same as the actual digimon that spread across the net. There was no reason to get upset about it.

Yet, looking at Terriermon – hurt and battered following his reverse-digivolution – he couldn't help but wonder…

_"It doesn't matter if they get hurt because they're not real…"_

The sight of Terriermon collapsing to the ground told him otherwise. When he broke down, unable to believe his own words… _that_ had been when the blue card appeared to him, and in the confusion, he slashed it, hoping… _wishing_ that it would be able to help the little Rookie.

The rest was history.

_I'll never make you fight again,_ he thought, remembering that promise and feeling horrible that he seemed unable to fulfill it. Try as he might, the universe seemed hell-bent on making him break it.

_I can't break my promise. What if I lose him?_

"Henry?"

"Hm?" Turning, he saw Terriermon looking at him with a worry in his eyes. "What's up?"

"You tell me? You had this faraway look in your eyes like you were somewhere else. I doubt you would have noticed getting hit by a car if someone didn't tell you."

"Very funny," Henry frowned. "It's nothing. I'm just…thinking, that's all."

"Maybe you should momentai a little, huh? Give your brain a rest before you step into traffic."

"Terriermon…"

**###**

Takato glared at his deck anxiously, one hand tapping on his thigh as he scanned the cards in his hand.

"Come on…" he whispered in irritation, causing Kazu to grin across from him. The game was not going well. He wasn't sure when things went bad, but if he had to hazard a guess it started when Kazu digivolved to Champion. He played aggressively as a rule, but he seemed to be even more so than usual this match, forgoing his usual style of toying with his opponent and overwhelming them with power up after power up to drive home just how utterly beaten they were and just slamming Takato with attack after attack, keeping him pressed down.

Then there was the little, tiny problem that his card combo just refused to show up when he _needed_ it.

He still had a chance though, or at least what he _hoped_ to be a chance. He knew his next play was a bit desperate, but there was little to no choice now. Playing a digivolution card and combining it with a strength modifier, he went in for the attack.

"Patience grasshopper," Kazu said, the smirk in his voice matching that on his face as he saw Takato's desperation to turn the tables around. "Guess what?" Flipping over a card, he slapped it down on the field. "I've won, Mr. Invincible!"

With an agonized groan, Takato fell back. "I can't believe I didn't see that coming!" he exclaimed in exasperation as his two friends laughed at his bad luck.

"I hope you enjoyed your little victory yesterday because you'll _never_ have one again!" Kazu crowed.

"Yeah, all you're gonna feel is pain when we keep whooping you!" Kenta chimed in, more than willing to rub salt in the wound. Grinding his teeth together as the laughter echoed in his ears, laughter at his hobbies that never seemed to end whether it was from Jeri and her friends or his own, he sat up suddenly.

"Well, it's just a stupid card game anyway!" he growled. "I have much more important things to do with my _time!"_

This caused both Kazu and Kenta to cease in their laughing, taken aback by his sudden temper.

"Huh?" Kazu tilted his head to one side. "What're you talking about? Are you channeling Jeri or something?"

"No!" Takato's face flushed, but he ignored Kazu's words. "It's just a card game. _Not_ the real thing, and winning a _real_ digimon battle is what sets the boys apart from the men! _That's_ what's more important!"

_"Real_ digimon?" Kazu barked a laugh. "Are you going on about how you're going to become a Tamer again? Who're you trying to kid here, pal? There's literally _no_ way the digital world would ever choose you for something that important. And don't try pretending that _digivice_ is the real thing. It's just a toy. You're a loser and a liar."

"I am _not!"_ Takato exclaimed loudly, only for Kenta's snickering to cut across his words like a hot knife as the bespectacled boy got to his feet and put his hands on his hips.

"Yeah, and I've got Omnimon in my bathtub, you wanna see him? Show me that you've got a real digimon."

"I will!"

"Give it up."

_"I'm not lying!"_

"Okay then, prove it," Kazu said, leaning back with a smug look on his face. Takato hesitated and shrunk back a little.

"Uh… Well…"

Kazu snorted, seeing the sudden retreat. He _knew_ Takato didn't have a real digimon.

_He's probably pretending it's that made-up one he's been drawing. I knew he was full of hot air._

"Hey come on," Kenta pressed. "Omnimon's waiting."

_Put up or shut up time,_ Takato thought, getting to his feet. "All right. You asked for it and you're gonna get it. Follow me."

Kazu and Kenta both blinked in surprise at how confident and certain their friend sounded. For the first time, that little bit of doubt crept into the back of Kazu's mind, and he stood up, looking at Kenta for confirmation that he wasn't just hearing things.

_If I am, then it looks like Kenta's in the same boat as I am,_ he thought, seeing the same level of confusion in his friend's dark eyes. Adjusting his cap, they gathered their things and followed after Takato, eager to see where this was going to lead them.

**###**

They made their way up the stairs in the park in a single file line. Kazu recognized the area and silently commended Takato on choosing a location that was sensible. If he had to pick a place to hide a digimon, this was definitely one of the most out of the way locations to do it in. If nothing else, it led more credibility to his story about having become a Tamer, especially given how he led them to this place without even thinking about it.

_Don't be stupid,_ he told himself. _Chumley's been up and down just about every path in the park same as you have. He knows it like the back of his hand. It's probably some joke he's got cooked up to spook you or something._

Upon reaching the top, Takato went over to the concrete bunker and unlatched the door. He paused and looked over his shoulder at the two boys.

"Now you've got to swear that you won't tell anyone about this," he urged.

"Whatever," Kazu dismissed while Kenta nodded, being more amiable, if anxious. If anything else, he was starting to believe Takato a little bit more with each passing step. The goggle-wearing boy showed no signs of being worried now, and made no attempt to delay them or made up any excuses about having to be somewhere.

_Just what is going on here?_ he swallowed before looking at Takato. "I swear."

"Okay," Takato said, opening the door wide and standing at the entrance. Kazu and Kenta both peeked over his shoulder furtively. "Guilmon?"

Nothing. No sound came from the wrecked interior of the bunker. Feeling a bit more confident, Kazu stepped around his friend to take a closer look. He wondered about the massive amount of damage that had been done. The last time he had been here – which had been around this time last year – the floor was smooth and unbroken.

_What happened in here? Someone take a jackhammer to this place or something? It looks like someone was trying to dig a hole all the way to Europe._

"Yeah right, doofus," Kazu said, strolling forward with even more confidence. "You're so full of it."

It was just then that glowing yellow eyes snapped open, and at once Kazu and Kenta jerked back, hands clutching at each other fearfully. Deep from within the hole, where the glowing eyes lay, there came a deep, guttural, animalistic growl that grew louder with each passing moment before finally letting out a powerful…bellowing…

…sneeze.

Kazu and Kenta screamed and bolted out of the bunker, arms flailing while Kenta screamed for his mother, leaving Takato to laugh at them.

_I told them they were going to get it,_ he thought in amusement. _I hope Guilmon didn't scare them too much though._

Guilmon appeared from the depths of his nest, rubbing at his nose sleepily.

"Takato, did you call me?" he asked. Takato nodded and looked at him curiously.

"Yeah, were you asleep?"

"Well, it was my nappy time," the crimson digimon replied before sniffing the air. Takato looked at him apologetically.

"Sorry, I didn't bring any bread with me this time."

Guilmon leaned back and smiled at his partner. "I don't care about that," he said, earning him a raised eyebrow in response while he went back to sniffing the air before suddenly rounding back on Takato, his pupils dilating as his feral instincts rose up. "I smell _digimon!"_

"Yeah!" Takato exclaimed excitedly.

_Game time!_


	62. Episode 11: Shogun's War

"The data infusion therapy looks to be going fine for you," Joe observed to Ken as he emerged from the scanner. "A couple more days and we'll be able to release you."

"Is there any way to speed up the process?" Ken asked, looking at the Digidestined of Reliability with a grimace. "These casts itch."

He raised his arms to indicate the 'casts' wrapped around his hands – though the descriptions were a bit of an understatement. A series of thin, gold rings emblazoned with digi-code were strapped around his wrists and connected together through a thin sheen of a soft, gray-colored cloth. He wiggled his fingers and a part of him rejoiced upon feeling them.

"I'm afraid not," Joe shook his head in response. "You and Davis both suffered considerable tissue damage from frost bite. If it weren't for this, amputation would have been necessary to prevent the spread of decay. You two were very, _very_ lucky."

Ken scowled, wishing he had a good rebuttal, but he knew Joe was right. Data therapy technology had been one of Izzy and Joe's projects in the years following the end of the war, due to the sheer number of Digidestined, Tamers, digimon and civilians who were injured and badly maimed. It was still new, but it had, fortunately, been released to hospitals for use in the past five years.

His hands tingled and he winced reflexively. The code – based on the Shinka model from the Monster Makers original digimon design and using holy data as a baseline – was inserting data into his existing biology, creating the same false proteins digimon used to bio-emerge into the real world while replacing damaged or destroyed tissue. The body would end up being fooled into thinking that the data belonged to it, leaving out many of the problems traditional transplants held dealing with organ rejection and infection. Presently there was no known biological disease that could infect data-constructed tissue.

This, of course, has since led to a debate about future implications regarding the new technology. At what point did it become preferable to simply replace the human body entirely?

_Not something that I intend to worry about right now,_ he mused. "So how's Davis?"

"Recovering," Joe replied. "As itchy as you are to leave." Adjusting his glasses, he looked up at the readouts on a nearby computer screen. "He's driving the nurses crazy by constantly getting out of bed to walk about. I keep telling him that he has to give the data transplants time to set or else he might accidently break a toe off."

He shook his head. "I'd strap him down to his bed if I wasn't worried that he needed the exercise. He's gained weight since I last saw him!"

"Old age and a combination of perfecting his world famous ramen recipe," Ken chuckled. "DemiVeemon is worse."

"Digimon tend to be given how much sugar they end up eating," Joe snorted.

"Sora and Biyomon?"

Joe picked up a tablet and tapped the screen. "Biyomon's condition has stabilized," he said after a moment. "It looks like the treatment finally took." A small smile of relief crossed his features. "That's good. I was starting to worry about her and Sora. Sora has only so much energy to give after all."

He set the tablet down and crossed the distance over to Ken to help him into his wheelchair.

"Glad to hear it," Ken smiled back, gingerly setting his cast-covered feet on the floor before seating himself. The wheel chair rocked as he settled heavily in it and he took a shaky breath.

"All right," he nodded. Taking hold of the wheelchair, Joe pushed him out of the room and down the hall. As they went, Ken glanced around him at the various patients in their rooms, and his fingers curled into his palms. All at once he was taken back to the war, hearing the low groans of the injured and dying, some of them begging for someone – a kind voice or a hand to hold… _Something_ to give them comfort in their time of darkness.

_In a way…I helped make that happen,_ he thought, the old guilt of his foolish childhood – his days as the Digimon Emperor – tugged at his conscience. He pushed it aside. He had been used. Used by the Dark Spore he gained from his adventure with Ryo Akiyama. He shared some measure of blame – a great deal of it in fact – but the Dark Spore blinded him and brought out the worst aspects of him – his insecurities and terrors – until they spun out of his control.

"Everything all right?" Joe asked, turning a corner. "You've been quiet."

"I was just thinking about the time I was in therapy," Ken replied. "About how when I was under the influence of the Dark Spore…how I became what I was as the Digimon Emperor as a way to both become what my parents wanted at the time. My brother."

His muscles tensed beneath the cast, remembering his brother. Sam, who had been killed in a vehicle accident and who's death had started him down the path of darkness. In retrospect, it made sense that his Digimon Emperor form resembled his brother so much – the hair, the glasses, the domineering attitude…all manifested from his memories of Sam, or rather the worst ones and then taken to their extreme when put under pressure by his parents to replace him.

"My therapist made a lot of money helping me through all that," he mused as they passed a room with a patient coughing loudly. The lights in the hall flickered suddenly and Joe drew to a halt, looking around him uncertainly.

"That…doesn't look good," he said aloud, frowning. As if to drive the point home, a computer sparked, startling one of the nurses and a series of digital code began to scrawl across the screen.

_"Revenge…"_ growled a voice from the loudspeaker. _"I will have my…revenge."_

At once, Ken and Joe's digivices screamed in alarm and they whirled about on each other.

"A digimon is bio-emerging!" Ken exclaimed, starting to climb out of his chair. "We need to get the digimon and call whoever we…!"

"Down," Joe said, grabbing Ken by the shoulder and pulling him back into his wheelchair. "Let me do the driving while you…" Pulling out his cell phone he quickly hit the call button and dropped it into Ken's lap. "…do the talking."

Ken nodded reluctantly as lights blew out above them.

**###**

The digital field was on the move and doing so with purpose. Already it passed the hospital and was heading down into the streets, causing traffic lights to spark, the entity firnubg within drawing from whatever sources of electricity it could to stabilize itself once it finished crafting the false proteins that would make up its body.

All of this Takeru did not see, though the information being streamed to him via the surrounding computer screens told him that this was occurring. The red dot of the digimon marched forward, moving inexorably towards its goal.

"Tracer is locked and Yuggoth has been deployed," Yolei reported as her chair swiveled around. On the screen, the familiar image of the Yuggoth icon, a trio of rotating spheres linked together, shot toward the wild digimon. Flicking his lighter open and closed, Takeru nodded.

"Say goodbye," he told the digimon on the screen. This was it. He had solved all of Hypnos' problems with this new program. First the strange anomaly from the tunnels, and now this wild digimon. He didn't know how it survived their first encounter, but this time they would make _certain_ there would be no third time.

_You may have wanted revenge,_ he thought, thinking back on that odd declaration from before. _But if you battle your own deletion, you are going to lose._

He flicked his lighter closed. _His_ victory at least was assured.

Yuggoth's icon abruptly burst apart upon contact with the digimon's icon, and within short order it continued on as though nothing had transpired.

"Impossible…!" Yolei gasped, her hands ceasing in their motions across her control panel while down below, Takeru jerked in surprise at this unexpected turn of events.

"What…was that?!" he demanded, stepping forward for a closer look. On the screen, they now had a visual from the Tracer feed. A sword-wielding digimon was charging toward them now, weapon raised and coming in for the kill. Yolei gasped.

"The Wild One completely destroyed Yuggoth…" she reported in dismay as the Tracer feed suddenly cut off.

Takeru's hand fell open in shock and his lighter crashed to the floor.

_"I'm going to enjoy my revenge on you pathetic humans!"_ Musyamon laughed. Shaking himself free from his stunned horror, he turned to Yolei and Tally.

"I need to know where he is _now!"_

On the screen, the red dot ground to a halt and vanished with a loud _beep._

"I've lost him!" Tally reported. "He's just bio-emerged!"

**###**

Gatomon paused as she and Kari prepared to cross the street, causing her partner to turn toward her with a raised eyebrow.

"Gatomon? What's up?"

Gatomon didn't answer right away. Her whiskers twitched and she glanced around, but due to her height, she found herself unable to see further than the sea of human legs. Opting to change that, she ran over to Kari and quickly leapt up onto her shoulder.

"Gatomon!" Kari exclaimed in surprise. "What's going on?"

"Something's coming," the feline Champion replied, pushing herself up as high as she could go. "I can feel it. Something changed in the air. It's like that weird electricity we feel whenever there's a bio-emergence."

"A bio-emergence?!" Kari scrambled to her bag to grab her digivice and quickly produced it with a shaking hand. _And so soon after the last one…_

She joined Gatomon in scanning the area for the telltale sign of the digimon's arrival, but at the moment she saw nothing. She glanced at her digivice and shook it, frowning slightly as it currently reported nothing.

"Gatomon, are you sure? My digivice isn't showing…"

On cue, the screen shone with a green light and began to shout an alarm, causing passersby to look at her with surprise. It took them a moment to notice Gatomon atop her head, and another atmosphere – that of the crowd – changed. Fear quickly replaced that of calm and with a shout of surprise, people began to scatter.

_"Digimon!"_ shouted someone within the crowd. Kari bit back the desire to tell them there was nothing to fear from Gatomon. She doubted they would listen anyway. At any rate, she soon found she had more important things to be concerned about. That of the digital field that was rapidly moving in her direction.

"There!" Kari said, pointing in the direction of the approaching fog. "It's coming right towards us!"

"At least people are getting out of the way now," Gatomon remarked, hopping down. "We should be able to clean this up without any trouble."

The fog settled onto the street and Kari gripped her digivice all the more tightly. As the digital field settled over them, there was a sudden gust of wind and then came a massive explosion that caused Kari to stagger back. Gatomon pinned her ears to her head and knelt down on all fours to keep herself stable.

"It's here," she said quietly, and as if on cue, a massive, humanoid figure with a large katana-like weapon burst free from the fog. It crashed onto the hood of a car as it screeched to a halt and whipping its sword about, sliced clean through it, barely giving the driver time to evacuate their vehicle.

"Hey!" Gatomon shouted, launching herself at the sword-digimon like a pinball. "That's enough out of you!"

Whirling about, the samurai slammed the flat of his blade into Gatomon with ferocious force, sending her careening through a nearby window in a shower of breaking glass before snorting derisively.

"You're not the one I'm looking for," he declared. "I'm after the Hazard digimon."

With that, he launched himself back into the air, the digital field rising up to envelop him, and with that he was gone. The field lifted and rose away, and Kari rushed over to her partner, just as she crawled out through the broken window.

"Gatomon!" she shouted, dropping down next to her. "Are you…?"

"Woozy, but I'm fine. That digimon's fast and has a lot of punch to him. I'm going to need to digivolve."

Kari nodded and raised her digivice. "You got it."

A light shone on her screen and burst forth, enveloping Gatomon in its glow and forming a shell of data around her. Energy surged through her as her body lengthened and became more humanoid. Long, golden hair flowed down her back as a helmet bearing a cross and wings fell into place.

_"Gatomon, digivolve tooo… Angewomon!"_

The shell burst apart, and eight wins spread forth from her back. Standing tall over her partner, Angewomon lifted the woman into her arms and leapt into the air after their target.

**###**

"Hurry Guilmon!" Takato shouted as the pair rushed down the streets, nearing the heavy fog that now settled in the street before them. He frowned as he pulled down his goggles. The streets were teeming with people, some of whom were running away smartly. Others…less so as one man leapt into the arms of a motorcyclist, screaming in terror.

_Hopefully there won't be anyone around when the fighting begins,_ he thought as they entered the digital field. He felt the familiar tingle – like an electrical current – and soon he broke free from the thick of it to find a tall, warrior-digimon decked out in red armor and carrying a massive sword in one hand. Raising his goggles, he did likewise with his digivice and a holographic circle materialized above the screen, displaying the digimon's statistics and vital information.

Spying him, the warrior stepped towards him and smirked triumphantly.

"At last…"

"Whoa, it's the samurai master Musyamon!" Takato exclaimed in amazement. "A Champion level Wizard type! He can slice and dice an entire city with his Shogun Sword!"

Musyamon hefted his sword and charged suddenly with a resounding battlecry.

_"Vengeance is mine!"_

Spotting this, the two partners narrowing dodged the attack, causing the sword to miss its mark and strike the streets with a heavy crack, sending sparks flying through the air. Thinking quickly, Takato pulled out a card from his pocket and slashed it through his digivice's card slot to empower his partner.

_"Digi-modify! Hyper Sonic activate!"_

Guilmon rushed toward Musyamon as his speed increased, and the warrior charged forward to meet him, swinging his massive sword. Guilmon dodged the attack and leapt into the air, slamming his feet into Musyamon's back. Knocked off balance, the samurai fell to the side, struggling to right himself. Seizing the initiative, Takto slashed another card through his digivice.

_"Digi-modify!"_ he shouted. _"Mega Pyro Spheres activate!"_ He glanced up at Guilmon, his eyes blazing. "Let him have it!"

Rearing back, Guilmon opened his mouth, a burning light burning in the back of his throat before launching it at Musyamon. _"Pyro Sphere!"_

Falling into a stance, he jumped back, narrowly dodging the blast as it ripped up the street.

"Taking orders from a _human?"_ he scoffed before storming toward Guilmon again. "Pathetic!"

"Oh boy…" Guilmon blanched before jumping to the side to evade Musyamon's next attack. He dodged the sword slash, but fell afoul of a well-placed kick, knocking the wind out of him. The dinosaur digimon crumpled to the ground, gasping for breath.

"Hey come on!" Takato cried out. "You can't give up now, you can do it!"

"He can't do anything," Musyamon mocked, stepping toward Guilmon and raising his sword. "How this pathetic excuse for a Hazard digimon could have defeated Devidramon astounds me."

"Devidramon?" Takato's eyebrows rose in confusion before remembering the battle that caused Guilmon's first digivolution. "You…You knew him?!"

Musyamon's sword blade slashed downward toward its victim. Seeing it, Guilmon rolled out of the way, and the blade shattered the pavement where he had been. Clambering to his feet, Guilmon reared back, red fire burning in the back of his throat once more.

_"Pyro Sph-!"_

Musyamon's sword swept up and the flat of the blade crashed into the side of Guilmon's leg with a sickening crack, sending him flying backward with a cry.

"Guilmon!" Takato shouted, instinctively starting to run to his partner, only to be interrupted as a violet, arrow-shaped beam of light slammed into Musyamon's shoulder guard.

"Who…?" the samurai snarled, spinning around just in time to see Angewomon setting another arrow of light as the wings on her left glove expanded to form an archery bow.

_"Celestial Arrow!"_ she shouted before unleashing another blast.

Musyamon leapt back, and the shot crashed into the spot where he stood, kicking up a cloud of dust into the air, obscuring his form. Angewomon came in for a landing, setting another arrow as she saw him slink away into the fog of the digital field.

"He's using cover," she said as Guilmon staggered to his feet. "Are you all right?"

"Well, my stomach says it would like some bread and peanut butter after this is over, so I think I'm doing all right," he moaned. "Where'd he go?"

To answer his own question, he tested the air with a sniff, and growled. Frowning beneath her helm, Angewomon peered around.

"Guilmon? Do you smell him? Where…?"

_"Shogun Sword!"_ came the shout, sending a wave of fire shaped like a dragon surging at the pair. Curling her wings in front of her, Angewomon steeled herself and a barrier of light materialized around them, blocking the blast.

"You can't win," Angewomon declared, unfurling her wings. "Surrender and we'll allow you to leave this world unharmed."

Musyamon gazed at her from the thick mist, hatred burning in his digi-core.

"Surrender?" he mocked. "We of the Nightmare Soldiers do not surrender to the forces of Light. There is no surrender. Only victory…or death."

Stepping out from the fog, Musyamon reached down into his belt and produced an item, a black colored item with a jagged, mechanical appearance, causing Angewomon to gasp in recognition.

"I had hoped I would not need to use this," the samurai began, "but to get my revenge…there is no choice. Victory…or death."

With a ferocious battle cry, Musyamon jammed the Black Gear into his abdomen, and a red light burst free from his body.


	63. Episode 11: Acts of Light and Darkness

"Where is he bio-emerging?" Takeru demanded, his hands clenched into tight fists. He shook… Everywhere he shook. His program, Yuggoth, was a complete failure in preventing this digimon from bio-emerging. Civilians would no doubt be involved. Virus digimon, particularly those belonging to the forces of darkness, cared little about non-combatants. Indeed, they would most likely attempt to _cause_ casualties and force any Digidestined or Tamers who faced them to go on the defense, allowing them to get away so they could wreck more havoc.

He knew how they operated. He knew them all too well now.

_My fault… It will be all my fault if anyone gets hurt…or dies._

"I've confirmed the bio-emergent's point coordinates at the west intersection of the west intersection of the Shinjuku big guard rail," Yolei reported, and at that Takeru straightened up.

"Excellent!" he nodded, taking off at a run. Yolei gaped at him for a moment before frantically hitting the command to lower herself down.

"Sir?! Sir!" she shouted, unbuckling herself from her chair, much to Tally's shock and dismay from above.

"Inoue?! What are you doing? You can't just leave like that in the middle of…!"

Yolei wasn't listening as she tore herself free from her chair and rushed after her superior. He was already out of sight, and if she didn't miss her mark was already in an elevator.

_He can't be serious,_ she thought. _He can't be_ that _stupid! He was always level headed before…!_

Memories from when he destroyed the digital zone and his erratic behavior since the end of the war plagued her mind, and she pulled out her cell phone to dial Hawkmon.

**###**

"I've got Mimi and she says she's seeing it on the news," Ken reported as he and Joe burst free from the hospital entrance. "Lillymon is on her way."

"Did she say where?" Gomamon asked, taking a gander around them, frowning as he noted that there was no digital field over the hospital as he had expected.

"West Shinjuku big guard rail," Ken said, looking up at Joe. "Are we far enough yet from the hospital where we can safely use our digivices?"

"Not yet," Joe shook his head before pushing them ahead. "We need to be at least thirty to forty yards away before we can even _think_ about using them. With the power fluctuations, too many systems… Too many _people_ are vulnerable. We can't afford to use them until then."

Ken swore under his breath as his wheel chair hit pavement with a heavy clatter. "Gun it," he said. _Davis is going to be mad he missed out on this…_

**###**

_What's going on up ahead?_

Frowning, Henry took in the gathered crowd near the Shinjuku big guard rail and their excited chatter. What they were talking about he could not accurately determine as so many of them were speaking at once, but as he drew near, he soon found that he didn't need to hear.

The heavy fog in the middle of the road was more than informative enough.

_Are you kidding me?_

That was the first thought that came to Henry's mind as he mixed into the crowd, utterly stupefied at the sight of the digital field enveloping the street. It never seemed to end no matter how much he tried to avoid it. Fate, it seemed, was determined to find him and test his promise to his partner to keep him out of danger.

"Looks like we've got company, Henry," Terriermon observed, snapping the boy out of his stupor.

"Don't even think about it," he snapped, starting to turn away. "Come on, we've got other things to do."

"Besides walking around the city?" Terriermon asked sarcastically, causing Henry to roll his eyes in exasperation.

"Terriermon…"

"Come on, Henry! Aren't you curious?"

"No," he replied. _I already know what's in there…_

As if to confirm his suspicions, there was a loud flash from inside the fog, followed by what could only be an explosion. Henry hesitated, his conscience nagging at him. Someone was in there…fighting for their life. He thought of Takato, who would no doubt have zeroed in on this digital field like a moth drawn to the flame. He thought of Rika, who had, for once, needed help.

_If… If I go now… What happens if they get killed?_

He shook his head mentally. No! If he went in there again, he would lose Terriermon for sure. Besides, Takato and the others could take care of themselves, and Rika wanted nothing to do with digimon anymore.

They didn't need him.

There followed another crash from within the digital field, and a little girl, standing with her mother, in her surprise, suddenly lost her grip on her balloon. Breaking free, she rushed after it with a cry of horror.

"W-Where are you going?!" she shouted as it disappeared into the fog. "Come back! It's not safe!"

"Miyako!" shouted the girl's mother, rushing after her. Henry found himself moving without thinking. Takato and the Digidestined were one thing, but if they were distracted trying to protect a civilian… Or if these two got caught up in the crossfire…

"Hey, stop right there! Come back!" he shouted, slipping on his sunglasses as he breached the digital field. _"Stop!"_

Both the girl and her mother staggered upon entering the digital field, and the little girl dropped down, sobbing into her knees helplessly while her mother groped around, trying to find her; the mist badly affecting their vision.

He heard a loud explosion just then, followed by a scream of pain. Looking up, he saw Angewomon plummet to the ground and strike it with tremendous force, rebounding off the hard surface before rolling to a halt. Grinding her teeth together, the angel-digimon immediately began to force herself to her feet, though with considerable effort. She looked badly battered to Henry's eyes. He could only fathom the strength of the digimon who could do this to her.

"Fight me, you human coward!" he heard a vicious voice shout through the fog. His head whirling about, he spied a Musyamon…or what _appeared_ to be a Musyamon. Its skin was a mottled grey and its armor black. Red eyes glowed as it leveled an obsidian-colored katana at Takato, who both looked at the digimon with a mixture of worry and defiance.

There was good reason to be concerned. Imbedded in the digimon's chest was a black gear.

"Oh no!" Henry breathed, taking off his sunglasses. "This is bad!"

_His power…He's augmented it with a late-war Black Gear! Musyamon's got to be way stronger than IceDevimon! Takato can't win unless he digivolves Guilmon!_

He blinked, suddenly realizing that Guilmon was nowhere to be seen.

_Where… Where is Guilmon? Was he destroyed? This…_ His eyes widened in shock as realization crashed heavily upon his shoulders and he looked over at the battered form of Angewomon as she steadied herself. There was no way out of this. He wasn't the only one who stood to lose something if he didn't do _something!_

Musyamon raised his sword and started towards Takato, who took an unconscious step back, tightening his grip on his digivice. A red light gleamed on the edge of Musyamon's blade as it dipped slightly…

_"Takato!"_

Guilmon suddenly erupted from the fog and slammed into Musyamon's arm, biting and clawing at his armor in an attempt to keep his attention away from Takato. Snarling, Musyamon threw the Rookie off with almost contemptuous ease.

"To think that Devidramon lost to you," he spat, looming over Guilmon. "You are not worthy of being a hazard digimon. Allow me to rectify that and cut the data out of you."

His sword rose upward, and once more the red light glinted along its edges with murderous fire.

_"No!"_

Electricity sparked as Takato slashed a card through his digivice. _"Digi-modify! Hyper Wing activate!"_

_Hyper Wing isn't any good here!_ Henry thought, realizing that Takato _still_ wasn't ready to be in a fight of this level. He saw that he had won against an extremely powerful opponent by combining Hyper Wing with a speed boost card, but he hadn't learned yet that the flow of battle changed too often – enemies were too varied – to be able to rely solely on a single card combination!

_That…was what Rika was supposed to teach him…_

"He's going to get Guilmon killed!" Terriermon said, unknowingly echoing Henry's thoughts as he hopped down from his partner's shoulders.

The six wings materialized around Guilmon's back and he pushed himself away, just narrowly dodging Musyamon's attack. The crimson dinosaur struggled to right himself, but the wings almost seemed to refuse to cooperate.

"Use the wings like last time!" Takato called frantically, not understanding what was going on. Why was Guilmon having so much trouble? "You can do it!"

"S-Something doesn't feel right…" Guilmon stammered before finally forcing himself to clumsily land back down. The wings weren't working for him. Still…

"I'll…try…" he said, hopping at Musyamon. Smirking triumphantly, the samurai took a wide swing, aiming to bisect the Rookie at the gut level…

_"Celestial Arrow!"_

A beam of white light shot through the mist and slammed into Musyamon's sword with a heavy, ringing sound, the steel resonating from the violent impact. Musyamon spun around as Angewomon fitted another arrow to the string, taking aim.

"Now Guilmon!" Takato shouted. "While he 's distracted!"

"I…can't… _stop_!" Guilmon exclaimed, now floating helplessly in the air. The wings flapped, but there was no direction to them. If Musyamon turned on him now, it was over for him.

"Is that the _best_ you've got!" Musyamon laughed, laughing. Hefting his sword he turned toward the goggle-wearing boy. "It's time to end this, human."

The blade rose once more, in tune with Angewomon firing another _Celestial Arrow._ With barely a glance, Musyamon slashed his blade to the side and deftly blocked the attack before suddenly charging towards the goggle-wearing Tamer. Not expecting to be the target now, Takato froze on the spot, his mind going blank in panic.

_This…This isn't how it's supposed to happen!_

"Takato!" shouted Kari from across the street, running toward him. "Watch out!"

"We've got to help him!" Terriermon exclaimed, looking up at his partner. "Henry! What are you _doing?!_ He's going to get killed!"

_What now?_ Henry thought, his mind racing furiously. _If I do nothing we'll all be made into sushi! I don't think I can talk us out of this one!_

His gaze fell briefly on the little girl, cowering on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably while her mother still groped around fruitlessly, frantically calling for her daughter. Without some kind of eye protection upon entering the digital field, she would have an extremely hard time seeing. It'd be a miracle if she found her, and by the time she did…

_Suzie…_

Henry gasped and his eyes were wrenched back over to Takato, who still stood frozen in place. Angewomon fitted another arrow to her bowstring and fired, but Musyamon was moving too fast. The arrow missed his shoulder guard by a hairsbreadth.

"No…!" Angewomon cursed, summoning another arrow. Henry knew it was in vain though. By the time she fitted it…it would be too late.

"We've got to stop him!" Henry shouted, his digivice suddenly bursting with white light, twin to the light enveloping Terriermon.

"Well it's about time!" the long-eared rabbit-dog exclaimed gleefully as a shell of data formed around him. _"Terriermon! Digivolve tooo… Gargomon!"_

The shell exploded with ferocious force, revealing Gargomon once more in all his glory. The gun-toting Champion didn't waste any time, taking aim at the ground and firing off a round of laser bursts. Pavement exploded beneath Musyamon's feet, causing the infected Champion to roll to the side in surprise at the unexpected attack. Taking advantage of the distraction, Kari put on an extra burst of speed and bowled into Takato, grabbing him by the shirt and pulling him out of harm's way. Roaring with anger, Musyamon surged to his feet, furious that his prey had been stolen from him. He would _not_ allow it to ha-

The mist parted above him suddenly and the samurai paused, feeling a sudden air pressure coming on him like a wall at an insanely high speed. A shadow fell over him, and looking up, he saw a massive, humanoid digimon, grey-skinned with an orange beard and twin tusks pointing downward, wearing what appeared to be a tortuous shell on its back.

In one hand was a massive steel hammer, gleaming in the light of day.

_Zudomon…_ Musyamon thought with dawning horror as the digimon came slamming down toward him.

_"Vulcan's Hammer!"_ Zudomon shouted, bringing his weapon striking down with all the force he could muster. There was no time to dodge. There wasn't even any _room!_ The weapon was just too massive to evade. There was only one option. Block and pray.

Sword met hammer with a crash of lightning. Sparks flew and the street shattered, almost completely caving in from the impact. Cracks splintered the length of Musyamon's sword, but the blade held…just barely…as the samurai forced the Ultimate level digimon off of him, digital tendons nearly tearing from the sheer amount of effort required to do the task. Veins stood out prominently on his body as he struggled to regroup. One hand went to the black gear imbedded in his body, coaxing more power from it. He _needed_ this in order to fight more than ever. If he were to get his revenge…

The black gear cracked suddenly, the strain of the power requirements proving to be too much, and shattered into small bits of data. Musyamon collapsed, his sword breaking apart as well, and he shrunk, his armor returning to its normal, red color.

"No…" he rasped, turning a fearsome glare in the direction of Takato, who was presently being clutched tightly by Kari protectively. "I…will…have my revenge…for…Devidramon…"

Gargomon giggled and raised his arm-cannons just as Angewomon fitted another bow to her string and Zudomon raised his hammer. "Boy, you'll never learn…"

_"Gargo Lasers!"_

_"Celestial Arrow!"_

_"Vulcan's Hammer!"_

The three attacks shot forth, melding together before slamming into Musyamon's body. Electricity tore through his armor, ripping it to pieces with almost contemptuous ease before tearing into his digi-core. Musyamon's mouth opened to scream, but for him there was simply no time. With one final detonation, his body dissolved into nothing, leaving only the shattered street where he stood, empty and quiet, save for rubble falling to the ground.

"Great job everyone!" Guilmon exclaimed happily, grabbing the red balloon belonging to the little girl before it could float further away. The act couldn't have been better timed, as the Hyper-Wing effect finally wore off, sending Guilmon plummeting down to the street below.

"Guilmon!" shouted Takato, breaking away from his teacher's grasp to run over to his partner as he hit the ground with a sickening _thud._ Dropping down next to him, he gingerly touched Guilmon's head, and the dinosaur happily rose up and bowled him over, licking him happily.

"Takato!"

"Hey! I…! Guilmon!"

While the pair reunited, Henry wandered over to Gargomon, looking at him warily. "You…You can control yourself in this form?" he asked. "But…before…"

"Don't look at me," Gargomon shrugged. "You said you wanted to put a stop to Musyamon, and that's what I did. Although…it is weird. It's not like it was with the fight with Renamon."

Approaching from behind, Angewomon placed a gloved hand on Henry's shoulder and smiled at him.

"The hearts of a digimon and their partner are intertwined," she said to them. "You're not the first I've seen with discord inside them. If you are uncertain or unable to act with a clear vision of intention…if you are split within your heart about how you should act…the turmoil will be reflected within your partner as well."

"Your digimon is a reflection of you," Kari added as Stingmon came in for a landing, bearing Ken and a dry heaving Joe. "If you would like to talk…"

She trailed off as Henry closed his eyes, considering their words for a moment. Gargomon moved a bit closer to him worriedly.

"Henry? Are you okay with all this?"

The boy opened his eyes, his expression clouded, but his eyes were clear.

"There really was no other choice," he said firmly. The tone in his voice said it all. He found the violence distasteful, but at the same time, if he hadn't acted…

He turned in the direction of Takato, his expression softening, thinking about what could have happened to him just now.

_I guess Terriermon was right. Sometimes, you have to fight._

"A talk would be fine," he said to Kari as Takato untangled himself from his partner. "Terriermon… I mean Gargomon." He bowed politely to his partner. "I owe you an apology. There are some battles worth fighting."

"Yup!" Gargomon replied, patting his partner on the shoulder. "Now that we're working together as partners, I guess I need to know more about Taming."

"Momentai," Gargomon giggled.

Kari and Angewomon both exchanged glances. Satisfied that they were going to be all right for the time being, she went over to Joe and Ken as their respective partners began to reverse-digivolve back to their Rookie levels.

Distantly, she heard the sound of approaching helicopters, but she brushed it aside for the time being, eager to catch up with her friends.

"Hey guys…" she began, only to be interrupted by a loud scream. Spinning around, she saw the little girl being snatched by a woman – her mother she guessed, having seen the two blunder into the digital field earlier – running away from a sad-looking Guilmon, a red balloon held awkwardly in his claws. His ears wilting, he looked up at Takato.

"What'd I do wrong?"

"It's okay boy," Takato began, patting him gently on the head. "She was just upset because of all the fighting. That was a close one wa…?"

A rock pelted Guilmon suddenly, causing the dinosaur to yelp in surprise. Looking up, they saw the crowd across the street looking more than a little bit angry. Cell phone cameras flashed and some of the bystanders began to shout and jeer loudly at the group.

_"Go back to the digital world!"_

_"Monsters! Look what you've done!"_

"Oh boy…" Guilmon began as another rock hit him square on the nose. Seething, Takato stepped in front of his partner.

"Hey!" he began. "Just why are you…?"

He broke off suddenly as his eyes zeroed in on a particularly large rock streaking right toward him. His vision of the oncoming projectile fast became obstructed by a white gloved hand with a pair of feathered wings attached to the wrist. The hand caught the rock as casually as a catcher's mitt, causing Takato to blink.

"One…more…rock…" Angewomon began in a tone so soft yet hard that Takato was reminded of the sound of approaching thunder. Her hand tightened and the chunk of rubble crumpled into dust. "Just…one…more…"

The sound of helicopters was louder now. Indeed, they were right on top of them. Looking up, Takato found them, two, unmarked and black colored with a pair of mini-guns slung under their sides, hovering above them. At the far end of the street, black vans swung into view, preparing to block off the exits.

_"Everyone is to stay right where they are!"_ clamored a voice from one of the copters as a ladder unfurrowed and fell down between the crowd and the Digidestined and Tamers. _"The authorities are on their way and will be requiring statements from everyone here! Do not attempt to leave the vicinity. Thank you for your cooperation!"_

Kari raised her hand to block out the sunlight as she looked up at the helicopter that had dropped the ladder. Someone was coming down from it. Someone…she knew.

Her heart skipped a beat as Takeru Takaishi touched down on the broken streets, hair blowing in the wind. Taking off his sunglasses, his blue eyes met her brown ones.

"Hello again," he greeted as law enforcement began to spill out of the black vans, locking down the streets.


	64. Interlude 8: Broken Bridge

Calumon breathed a heavy, tired sigh from his viewpoint above the crumbled ruins of the battle site. He felt drained, and as a result unable to fly away once it became clear that there was nothing interesting for him to see. Not that he had been able to see anything to begin with, due to the thick digital field that blanketed the area…well, with the exception of Zudomon's sudden appearance, but there just wasn't anything else happening; just a lot of people crowding around and being generally _grumpy_ toward each other; toward the Tamers and their digimon.

He shook his head, wishing he didn't feel so tired, but there was little he could do about it. Something had happened upon his arrival…something… _leaving_ him with such force that there were times that it took him by surprise.

Such incidents were happening more and more, leaving him to wish that there was a doctormon somewhere nearby who could look at him and tell him what was wrong, just like they did on TV.

Looking skyward sleepily, he spotted a lithe figure fast approaching the street, leaf-petal wings buzzing like a hummingbird.

_So pretty…_ he thought, closing his eyes so as to rest them…just a tiny bit before moving on.

Just…a _tiny_ bit.

**###**

Lillymon drew near to the scene of battle in its post aftermath, a worried expression on her face as she saw the crowd and the number of black vans and armored vehicles blocking the streets off. Flying closer, she felt a tingle cross along her skin and in the next moment she heard a voice, seemingly from out of nowhere.

_"Digimon. You are to land at the lights and move no further. We are going to process you. Is that understood?"_

"Wha…?" Lillymon exclaimed in a startled gasp, only for the tingle to increase in intensity.

_"Is that understood?"_ the voice repeated. _"Acknowledge last message. We have a laser broadcaster signaling you. If you do not reply we_ will _turn it up."_

Lillymon swallowed anxiously. "A-Acknowledged," she responded quickly, not wanting to get anyone's trigger fingers itchy. She remembered the laser weapons from the war, humanity having found some limited success with them as a means to send virus attacks to digimon as well as to cause damage to them. They were useless at the level she was at and largely were only effective up to a weak Champion digimon, but that didn't change the fact that until the beam was turned down, it would _hurt._

Often times, pain was all that was necessary to distract a giant until someone came along with a bigger gun to finish the job.

Quickly finding the landing lights signaling her, she flew on down and landed gracefully. A moment later, a young woman wearing a suit approached her, carrying a small, blinking wand-like device, causing Lillymon to gasp in surprise.

"Is…something the matter?" the woman asked, wary of the Ultimate. Lillymon narrowed her eyes and leaned forward, causing the woman to step back uncertainly.

"Sorry," she said after a moment, pulling away, the tips of her vine-like hair brushing against her shoulders. "For a moment there I thought you were someone I knew. Maki Himekawa. You're almost her spitting image."

"You won't find her here," came the voice of Takeru, approaching as he flicked his lighter open.

_"Takeru!"_

"Lillymon," the man nodded, flicking his lighter closed before nodding to the woman. "Process her."

"What happened here?" Lillymon asked as the woman approached, waving her wand over her front. "And…what's this about?"

"Processing," Takeru replied. "We're making sure you're not carrying any viruses in your code. It's a formality, but one that should be observed so that lawyers and the news media don't find something to tear us apart over."

"Covering your butt then," Lillymon said as the woman gestured for her to turn around. Taking hold of her petal-skirt, the plant-digimon did a little spin like a dancer and winked at the woman, causing her to blush before hurriedly waving the wand over her.

"She's clear," she said, stepping away.

"Good," Takeru replied with a nod. "Now that that's out of the way, I would assume that you want to see the others."

"That's right. Are they okay?" Lillymon glanced around her. "Looks like quite the mess around here."

"There's been considerable infrastructure damage," Takeru said. "We've cleared the street as it's in danger of caving in, due in no small part to Zudomon. Apparently Stingmon dropped him like a meteor while he was digivolving."

"Smart thinking."

"Smart, but dangerous. This is peacetime, not war." He flicked his lighter open and glanced at her. "Aren't you going to de-digivolve?"

"Not yet." Lillymon looked over at the crowd, some of whom were looking at her with a mixture of awe and amazement. One young man raised his cell phone to take a picture, causing Lillymon to raise her hand in a peace-sign and wink at him. The young man blushed ferociously and took a picture, only for it to be snatched out of his hand by a suit-wearing agent.

"What's that about?" Lillymon asked as the young man protested heatedly at the taking of his property. "A picture of me is hardly a threat to national security."

"You'd be surprised," Takeru replied. "We're not taking any chances. We have network dampeners set up throughout twenty blocks and analyzing all data in cell phones…computers…you name it…to make sure that nothing gets out. The last thing I or anyone in the government wants right now is an information leak, no matter how small or insignificant."

"What's to stop these people from talking?" Lillymon asked.

"Are you familiar with the Information Confidentiality law that passed parliament five years ago?"

"I don't watch the news, hon."

"A pity. I'll keep it short. Everyone here is subject to information muzzling. Certain keywords and websites they visit will be heavily monitored and censored regarding an incident such as this until such a time that the information becomes publically available by the government." Takeru adjusted his sunglasses. "It only applies to matters of national security so as to prevent a panic. An incident like this will likely only last during the formal investigation is completed. By then the news media will have moved on to something else."

Lillymon tilted her head to one side at him questioningly. "Why…are you telling me this?"

"Freedom of information disclosure," Takeru replied, approaching the Digidestined. "Think of it like reading you you're Miranda Rights if you were living in the United States. We're required by law to make sure you know and understand this aspect of the law. It applied to you immediately when you entered this area."

Lillymon looked confused for a moment before her eyes widened. "Wait… Am I being _arrested?!"_

"As long as you abide by the law and don't attempt to circumvent it, you will be fine."

Lillymon shuddered as they came to a halt in front of the others. Takeru was _scary._

"I've informed Lillymon about the situation with regards to the law," he explained to them. "I'll leave the ground work to you. You are all dismissed."

"That's it?" Joe asked, adjusting his grip on Gomamon, causing Takeru to pause and turn toward him with a frown. Once again, all the things he heard about Takeru since the war came to mind, and he found himself wishing he had paid more attention to them.

"There's nothing else that needs to be said. And I'm certain that you need to get back to your work."

"Hey, come on Takeru…" began Gomamon.

"That will be all," Takeru said, stepping away. Fuming, Joe started toward him, only to be blocked by Kari.

"Let him go," she said quietly. "He's letting us go."

"You say that like it has a lot of meaning," Gomamon noted, shifting in between Joe's arms. The brown-haired woman tightened her lips at that.

Seeing this, Joe sighed and adjusted his glasses. "Kari…" he began. "You and I…we're going to need to talk."

"You do need a lot of catching up," Kari agreed. "But let's get out of here first."

Turning toward Takato, Henry, Guilmon, Gatomon, Lillymon and Gargomon, she indicated for them to follow her. Together, they all headed off, leaving the sullen crowd behind.

"You're staying in Champion form?" Lillymon asked Gargomon as they turned a corner, heading in the direction of the park – the only place it seemed that they could get any privacy from people. "Those gun arms of yours are…going to upset a lot of people."

"I can't," Gargomon replied. "Not yet anyway. It's like that situation with Guilmon. We had to find a rainbow or something to help him de-digivolve."

"I…what?" Lillymon blinked in confusion. "I don't understand. Why a rainbow?"

"Try not to think about it too hard," Gatomon said, padding up to Takato. "I'm sure it was something else and we just haven't figured it out yet. It might be something that needs to be trained."

"I'm sure you can help them with that, right Gatomon?" Lillymon asked. "I mean, you were the drill instructor to a lot of Tamer digimon back during the war."

Henry cocked an eyebrow in the direction of the feline before a memory flickered in his eyes.

"That's right. You were granted a field commission as a drill sergeant…er…weren't you?"

"I was," Gatomon nodded, her cat-eyes narrowing. "I don't want to talk about it though."

Sensing a turn in the mood, Lillymon fidgeted, looking from one digimon and human to the other. "So…what's the plan then?" she asked.

"Takatomon has got to go home," Guilmon answered. "I bet his parents are worried about him and everything."

Kari stiffened at that, her eyes widening in horror. "Oh no… I forgot! With everything that's happened…"

"It's okay, Ms. Kamiya," Takato placated, plastering a quirky smile on his face as he rubbed the back of his head. "I'll just tell my folks that I was in the park like usual. It's no big deal."

"Are you sure about that?" Gatomon asked, drawing up next to him. "The two of you were pretty involved in that fight after all."

"I'm fine," Takato said with a light, nervous laugh that didn't sound the least bit convincing. "I mean, Guilmon was the one who took the brunt of it all and that rock didn't hit me, so…"

"Wait, what rock?" Lillymon asked only to receive a 'later' gesture from Gatomon.

"It's okay, Takato," Gatomon continued. "I know seeing that crowd get upset like that could be pretty upsetting. If you want to get anything off your chest, we're here to listen."

"I…" Takato hesitated before glancing away, his shoulders sagging. "Well… They did kind of…get to me. I mean, I know there was always a bit of a problem, but…I guess…I just wasn't prepared for it. For how people look at digimon. We had the card game and other games, so I guess I thought…things would be…okay."

He scratched the side of his head uncertainly. "I really don't know anything about what I'm getting into, do I? I mean, look at what happened with Guilmon. All I did was keep swiping one card after another and I didn't stop to think about how it would affect him. I didn't even consider that my card combo wouldn't work. And Guilmon almost got killed because of that."

With a pained expression, he turned toward his partner. "Guilmon… I owe you an apology. I messed up today." He bowed his head to his partner, half expecting Guilmon to be angry with him for his inconsiderate actions. "I'm sorry."

Guilmon smiled and patted the boy on the head, ruffling his messy hair with his claws. "No problem. I kind of liked flying anyway."

Suddenly throwing his arms into the air, he grinned.

"Toe-na-mi!"

"Uh…huh?" Takato and the others looked up at him, baffled.

"Where…Where did _that_ come from?" Lillymon asked. "What's that even _mean?"_

"It's that thing Terriermon says that means take it easy!" Guilmon chirped. "I was just telling Takatomon to 'take it easy'."

Gargomon giggled, holding a gun barrel to his chin. "I think you mean _momentai._ Sheesh Guilmon. Do you have to mangle it like that?"

"Hah?" Guilmon asked, looking confused. "You mean…You mean it's not…Toenami? It's…" He scrunched his face up in concentration. "Moe-tai-mai?"

"No Guilmon, it's momentai," Takato laughed, taking his turn to pat his partner's head. His spirits lifted a little at Guilmon's forgiveness. It still didn't make him feel better, but…he supposed that was all right for now.

"You two lived through it," Gatomon said. Sensing his change in demeanor she crossed her arms over her chest in an authoritative manner. "You live through it, you learn from it. You'll know to do better next time. That's about the best any of us can do, even after all the studying and practicing we do to prepare for whatever the future may bring." She tapped the side of her head indicatively. "Using a little thoughtfulness will probably be your best advantage from here on out. Keep that in mind, okay?"

"I will," Takato nodded. After a moment's thought, he offered the feline digimon an awkward salute, earning him a raised eyebrow before Gatomon chuckled.

"Haven't had that in a while," she said. "Sure brings back memories. All right, private, don't you have somewhere to get to?"

"Ah! Yeah!" Takato nodded again before rushing off, Guilmon quickly charging after him with a laugh. "See you all later you guys!" he called out before disappearing around a corner.

Smiling, Kari looked down at Gatomon. "You sure haven't lost your touch."

Gatomon shrugged, but her eyes gleamed with a touch of pride. "When you're this good you never lose your touch."

Hopping up on Kari's shoulder, she immediately began to purr noisily. "I think this calls for a victory snack," she said. "I'm thinking fish."

"You're obsessed," Kari laughed, patting her partner. "But you earned it."

She glanced over at Henry questioningly. "Would you like to come along? My treat."

"Actually we should probably get going," Henry replied, indicating Gargomon. "He really can't go into restaurants. Anyway, I have a method that will get him back to normal. It's just…going to take a while."

"All right," Kari nodded. "Stay safe."

"I make no promises for Henry," Gargomon chuckled. "He's lost without me on his good days. Sometimes I don't know what to do with him."

"I'm lost _with_ you too, you know," Henry laughed. "Come on. We'd better get out of here before we draw too much attention."

The remaining members of the group watched the pair take off before spoke up.

"Things sure got awfully serious all of a sudden. How does Ken do it?"

"Where _is_ Ken by the way?" Lillymon asked, furrowing her brow. "Mimi and I got a text from him saying he was heading off with you and Joe so I was expecting to see him here."

"Takeru took an interest in his condition and had him flown to a hospital that's not dealing with power issues," Gomamon said. "When Musyamon first started showing up, his digital field messed with the power, so the hospital is a bit…well, anything _but_ momentai right now. He's also detailing some people to get Sora, Biyomon, Davis and Veemon to a working hospital as well."

"It's strange," Kari said, more to herself than to the others. "Sometimes he seems like he still cares about us, but other times…"

"He picked me and Gomamon up at the airport personally," Joe supplied, adjusting his doctor's coat. "He thought that there was a reason to be concerned about our safety. Something about a Tamer being attacked by an anti-digimon supporter?"

"He may have been talking about Henry," Gatomon said. "And yeah, there's reason to be worried about that. We need to be careful until this all blows over. We _all_ need to be careful."

Kari nodded to herself before starting forward again. "Well…we can't do that on an empty stomach. Come on. Let's find somewhere quiet. I'll call Mimi and let her know what's going on."

"Better let me do it," Lillymon interceded. "It'll make her feel better hearing from me first. It lets her know that I'm all right and I don't want her getting all panicky or anything. Not if she's going to end up panicking for two and one of them doesn't know why one is panicking at all. Babies don't understand after all."

"All right," Kari said, handing the phone over to her before turning away, her expression troubled. Seeing this, Joe placed a hand on her shoulder. He knew what – or rather _who_ – she was thinking about, even if she didn't say it out loud.

Takeru.

"You know," she began quietly. "When I saw him at Ken and Davis' place, he was…cold. No matter how many times I see him, I'm never prepared for how he acts towards us. It's like we were never friends to begin with."

"He's still in there," Joe replied, smiling softly. "I'm sure of it."

"If I didn't know any better," Gomamon spoke up from Joe's arm. "I'd say that he's doing that to keep you at arm's length. Not for his sake, but for yours. It's probably some kind of defense mechanism or something."

Joe blinked and looked down at his partner. "Wha…? How do you…?"

"Hey, I've been paying attention and reading up on stuff. I'm your partner, aren't I? I still help out around the hospitals we're at after all. I need to know _something."_

"Will wonders never cease," Joe laughed lightly, pushing up his glasses. "Hopefully we can add Takeru to that as well someday."

_But when will that someday be?_ Kari wondered, Gatomon's tail brushing up against her in a gentle, comforting caress.


	65. Episode 12: Fear and Anger

Ophanimon gazed into her seeing-orb, her attention focused on the golden-furred kitsune as she made her way through the human city, leaping from one building to the next. Her expression was cold and harsh, and there was a sense of anger beneath the surface. Anger and confusion.

She could understand that. Even sympathize. She saw so much of it reflected in the eyes of beast digimon – particularly in Cherubimon, who often sought to aid them.

_I may feel sympathy, but justice must be done. This Renamon has allowed things to go too far in the favor of the Nightmare Soldiers. She must be taken. Reigned in. Imprisoned if possible. And if not…_

She heard the sound of buzzing behind her, and she knew her loyal soldiers had arrived to do her bidding.

_…she will have to be deleted,_ she finished, turning toward three insectoid digimon with red exoskeleton armor, kneeling before her, awaiting her orders.

**###**

Yolei arrived at work, her eyes quickly falling on Takeru as he looked over a data pad. Her eyes narrowed slightly at him, remembering how he had forbidden her and Hawkmon from intervening.

_"If Hawkmon appears on site, he will be treated as a potential hostile,"_ he had told her bluntly. How she had _seethed_ in anger, but she acquiesced to his order… _this_ time.

"Take your station, Ichijouji," Takeru said, not looking up from his data pad. Yolei jerked, startled at having allowed her mind to become unfocused from her duties, but she quickly recovered herself.

"Yes sir," she acknowledged, heading over to her chair and climbing into it. Strapping herself in, she lowered her visor and she rose up within the screen-dome, joining Tally.

"Systems are online," she reported, running a quick diagnostic. "Everything is functioning normally. Beginning sector scan of the network."

"I've been detecting an unusual energy pattern in sector seven," Tally said. "Might be a glitch. Could you double check?"

"Roger." Yolei sent out a signal ping and began to analyze the incoming data. Sector seven was one of the sub-dimensions within the digital world's structure, home to the Celestials. Unusual energy patterns there were unheard of since the war and, as far as they knew, no digimon ever bio-emerged from that area.

"Hmmm… I'm detecting an unusual disturbance in the network data stream," she confirmed. "I can't get a lock on it, but there's definitely something there. Shall I send a Tracer?"

Takeru flicked his lighter open before appearing beneath them. "Do it," he ordered, flicking his lighter closed. Turning away, he frowned, thinking back to the previous day. The two of the three children that made up the latest generation.

_Are they ready?_ he wondered, feeling a touch of anxiety within him. He clutched his lighter tightly in one hand.

_Perhaps I should take a more direct role in events…_ he mused.

**###**

Takato puffed and panted as he raced over to the playground, a broad smile beaming on his face as he spied Kazu and Kenta sitting within, cards already out and involved in a game of digimon. This was good. He had worried that they might have gotten a little too scared when they met Guilmon, albeit 'met' was a bit strong of a description since they ran off at the first opportunity.

_If they're here now, then that must mean that they're okay,_ he thought drawing up to them. _Well, I'm glad something went right for a change this week. Between Rika and IceDevimon and that Musyamon business, I'd be glad for a little…I don't know… Something 'normal' at least. Yeah. Normal would be good._

Takato's smile broadened. If he couldn't count on normal with two of his closest friends, what _could_ he count on?

"Ah, man, you started without me!" he exclaimed, ducking beneath the concrete dinosaur to join them, his smile belying with his offense. He was just too happy to see them to really be mad.

He knew something was wrong the instant they turned to look at him. Kenta looked half-terrified while Kazu… Kazu only looked at him briefly before turning away, as if ashamed. Feeling a bit uncertain, Takato tried to brush it off as he sat down next to them.

"What's wrong, guys?" he asked, setting his card box down. "Are you upset about Guilmon? Why did you run away yesterday?"

Kazu and Kenta both exchanged glances before looking away uncertainly.

"Uh… Stuff to do," Kazu replied, sounding hesitant. "You know." He shifted uneasily, trying not to think back on the incident but unable to do so. "How'd you make him look so real?" he asked after a moment.

Takato raised an eyebrow at that. "Well, he looks real because he _is_ real."

Takato gave his friend a half-hearted, quirky smile, as if his answer were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Yeah right!" Kazu shot back, meeting his friend's gaze for but a moment before turning away again. That look… Takato felt his concern growing. Something was wrong here. Kazu looked badly shaken.

_Did I go too far?_ he wondered.

In his mind's eye, Kazu saw the gleaming, golden eyes… The vicious, animalistic snarl… And worse…

As if on an unspoken agreement, Kazu and Kenta both began to toss their cards into their boxes and quickly closed them up.

"Hey!" Takato exclaimed. "Don't put it up! I just got here!"

"You're beginning to freak us out, dude," Kazu said, closing his eyes in exasperation, causing Takato to tilt his head in confusion.

"What do you mean?" he asked. "Come on. It's not like being a Digidestined or a Tamer is impossible. Digimon are _real_ after all…"

"Give me a break!" Kazu shouted, rounding on him. "You made a digimon out of rubber eyes and a flashlight and you're trying to mess us up! And seriously? You put a _hazard_ sign on it? What's wrong with you?"

Takato blinked. The hazard sign again. His surprise quickly turned into frustration. He was tired of Guilmon's hazard sign constantly being held against him. First with Rika, and now his own _friends?_ "You're crazy. Why would I do something like that? That's not my fault. Guilmon didn't even _have_ it when I first drew him. I don't know why my digivice created him with one, but… Hey!"

As he spoke, Kazu and Kenta, clearly finished with hearing him out, grabbed their things and stormed off. Shooting to his feet, Takato rushed out from beneath the concrete dinosaur.

"Come on, guys! I know it's freaky, but he's a good digimon! You begged to see him but you ran away before he could even say hi!"

There was no dissuading them however. The two boys continued on, ignoring his protests and exclamations. Takato stood there helplessly, his face scrunching up as he felt a bitter pain form in the back of his throat.

_They left,_ he thought quietly. _They just left… Just like that. Because Guilmon had a hazard sign on him. And it wasn't even his fault._

He wanted to be angry, but instead he just felt…tired. He sighed despondently, feeling betrayed.

_I guess…I couldn't count on them after all,_ he thought, running a hand through his hair. _Man, I'm dumb. I thought I could trust them…and instead it all blew up on me._

Movement caught his attention and he looked up, finding Jeri standing at the far end of the playground, a concerned expression on her face. Takato paled as they stood there, staring at each other before frantically breaking eye contact. Grabbing his things, he quickly took off.

_Great… Now Jeri knows…_ he thought, just wondering what _she_ thought of him being partnered to a hazard digimon.

He didn't dare consider it after today.

**###**

Jeri opened her mouth to call out to the boy when he started to take off, but he was too quick, and soon enough his retreating back was gone. She stood there for a moment, feeling bad about Takato. He appeared to be having some kind of fight with Kazu and Kenta about digimon – a _real_ digimon.

_Is he telling the truth? He wouldn't lie about that…would he?_

She wasn't sure, but she felt determined to find out.

**###**

Takeru stood outside Shinjuku elementary, his lighter flicking open and closed in rapid succession as he gazed at it. Bringing his hand to rest on the gate, he considered it; the occupants within to be more precise.

_I have to make a decision,_ he thought. _That's why I'm here. Those kids… They don't realize what a dangerous game they're playing now._

Uncertainty filled him though. He was playing a dangerous game as well after all. Everything he had built could be lost in the blink of an eye. Should the children fail…the Digidestined wouldn't be able to win the day this time. The world _needed_ these three more than anything else now if it was to survive.

He felt the pressure of his digivice in his pocket more than ever.

_Patamon…_ he thought, tightening his grip on his lighter.

Reaching forward, he pressed the button on the gate to contact the main office staff.

**###**

The school day over, Rika strode up the path to her home, listening to the sounds of birds singing around the street.

_I hate singing…_ she thought distractedly before coming to a stop at the front door. Turning questioningly, she scanned the yard, extending her senses for anything out of the ordinary.

Nothing came to her save for the birds. Her eyes dropped a little at the plainness of her yard, and the absence of the one who had come into her life.

"Is she really gone?" she asked aloud before scowling. "I knew all that partner stuff was _nonsense."_

She drew her hands into tight fists, remembering what IceDevimon had said about her.

"She never really cared about me no matter _what_ she says," she said bitterly, turning to look at the other side of the yard, as if expecting to have missed her. She felt a flash of anger at that; anger that was quickly tempered by a bone-deep sadness at the thought. Hurriedly she went over to the other side of the house to check the backyard where the koi pond was, only to again be greeted by stillness.

"If she cared, she'd _be_ here…"

Rika's angered face dissolved and her eyes fell towards the ground.

"She was just using me," she sighed quietly. She swallowed painfully, wishing she didn't feel so bad… Wishing she didn't feel like she missed Renamon, and miss her she did, as much as she hated to admit it. The kitsune's presence in her life had become so normal in so short a time that before she knew it – before she even _realized_ it – Renamon had felt like a part of her.

_Like…family,_ she thought, reflecting on the irony. That was, after all, what she wanted to go to the digital world for.

That anger threatened to rise up again, but she just couldn't summon the will to do it. It wasn't as though their partnership had started as anything other than the two of them using each other for their goals. Renamon, at least, had been honest to that degree. She wanted a Tamer to make her digivolve after all.

_But…why all that other stuff? Why would she talk like…like Sora?_

Sora… Her mood darkened even further. Her name only reminded her that Biyomon had been hurt because of her. That Sora's friends had been hurt because of her.

_I'm such a Gogglehead…_ she thought, scowling at the insult she usually reserved for the boy who actually wore them. Her nails bit into her palms. She had hurt him as well.

"Rika?" came the call of her grandmother from within. "Are you home?"

"I'm out here, grandma," Rika called back. Giving one last look to her yard, she stepped inside and took off her shoes. "I'm going to get changed now."

_And not a moment too soon,_ she thought, closing the door to her room. She frowned at her digivice, still right where Calumon had left them from the night. Ignoring them she bee-lined over to where her casual clothes were hung and quickly changed into them. Feeling somewhat better – at least more like herself – she dropped her hand to the back of her belt reflexively, finding the digivice absent.

_It really was like a part of me…huh?_ She glanced over at the digivice, wondering if she should use it to locate Renamon, although for what she couldn't say. To talk to her?

_What good would that do?_ she wondered. _I doubt she wants to talk to me anyway._

Still, the thought hung there, nagging at the back of her mind, refusing to leave her alone.

The digivice suddenly let out an alarm. She hesitated for a moment before going over to it tentatively. Picking it up, she activated the compass function, locating a digital field. She pressed the button below the screen again and quickly found Renamon's perspective, rushing toward the digital field forming in the park. She could see the baseball field vanishing behind the fog. She knew where to look.

It was where she first met Takato and Guilmon.

The next thing she knew, she was running toward the park.

**###**

Tally frowned beneath her visor as she took in the data being streamed to her. "The data from sector seven is clearing up now. We've got Wild Ones. Multiple signals. They appear erratic though. Tracers set to monitor progress."

Yolei looked up to the screen to find the red dots surging along its surface before abruptly vanishing.

"They're preparing to bio-emerge! I can't stop them!"

**###**

The column of light that had erupted from the pitcher's mound from finally died down, and an inky black void formed above it. It warped and shifted, and then three insectoid digimon – Flybeemon – shot free from it, buzzing loudly and angrily.

A golden furred kitsune suddenly materialized directly in front of them, causing them to draw up short in surprise.

"The Renamon!" buzzed the one at the head of the trio, raising its claws in an attack position. Renamon narrowed her eyes at this unexpected recognition.

"You have me at a disadvantage it seems," she chuckled in amusement. "You know me, but I don't know you."

"It doesn't matter," the lead Flybeemon replied. "You're to come with us back to the digital world."

_For interrogation I assume,_ Renamon mused. "Sorry. I think I'll pass."

"You don't have a choice in the matter," the Flybeemon buzzed before suddenly launching itself at her. Renamon disappeared from view, causing it to halt abruptly, amazed at her speed.

"Things not what they seemed?" she chided, appearing behind it. Before she could do anything however, her senses shouted an alarm. Turning, she saw the next Flybeemon charging at her, claws raised as it buzzed threateningly at her. Renamon narrowed her eyes and turned to face it more fully in answer to its challenge. Behind her, she heard the leader start toward her, but a quick slash of her tail swatted it aside like the bug it was. As it collapsed, she slashed her claws to the side, obliterating the oncoming Armor level digimon with almost contemptuous ease. The Flybeemon barely had a moment to register surprise at this before bursting into innumerable shards of data.

"One down," she said, turning toward the leader who was still crashed on the dirt ground. "That was easy enough…"

Renamon's leg twisted into a spasm as a giant stinger suddenly imbedded itself into her leg. With a startled gasp, she looked up to see the last of the trio had flanked her and launched a surprise attack. She felt a sudden wave of dizziness wash over her – venom of some kind – she felt. Nothing serious that her digital immune system couldn't clean up as long as she acted quickly. Grabbing hold of the stinger she yanked it out and tossed it aside, where it dispersed into shards of data.

_Ugh…_ she thought, collapsing to the ground. _It's…going to take me a second to recover…_

She turned her head up to find the two remaining Flybeemon now floating above her, stingers ready and electricity sparking at the tips of their claws.

_That's…too long a time,_ she thought, looking around suddenly.

"Rika…" she whispered, much to her surprise. "Where _are_ you?"

The Flybeemon launched their attack.

**###**

"Renamon!" Rika found herself calling out as she reached the chain link fence separating her from the baseball field, digivice in hand. She drew to a halt, listening to the sounds of battle within. She bit the inside of her mouth, debating whether she should go in and help or…observe. The very idea of seeing Renamon made her tighten her grip on her digivice.

She heard the sound of rustling behind her and she turned to find, unsurprisingly, Calumon tumbling out of the bushes, his big eyes staring up at her.

"Rika?" he asked. "What's wrong?"

Rika quickly looked away, feeling shame rise up inside of her. She wanted to say there was nothing wrong, and yet…she knew that was a lie. The darkest of lies.

_I don't know if I can face her… I…_ Raising her digivice, she switched to Renamon's viewpoint, just in time to watch the kitsune destroy one of the Armor's. She dropped it down to her waist and clenched her eyes shut.

_I'm…I'm not needed…_

There came the sound of twigs snapping and she saw Henry with his long-eared dog digimon appear as well. He looked at her, eyes going wide with surprise, but he quickly recovered himself.

"Rika!" he greeted, catching his breath before frowning slightly. _Why is she here? Did she and Renamon make up?_

That had to be the case. There couldn't be any other explanation. He had tried to get through to Renamon about her partner. Maybe she took some initiative and they worked things out?

"Why are you outside?" he asked, testing his theory. "You're missing the fight. That's not like you. Where's Renamon? Is she in there?"

"She needs you!" Calumon exclaimed, hopping closer to Rika.

There was a flash of light from within the dense fog and a call of _Lightning Sting._ From within, she heard Renamon's scream of pain. Rika closed her eyes and tightened her grip on her digivice even further. Her heart was racing painfully now. Renamon… She was in there, fighting. Fighting for her life, and yet…

_She doesn't need me. She never needed me. If I let her get close to me…she'll just use me._

Fear rampaged through her mind, and in that one instant, Rika spun around and ran off, hating herself every time her foot slammed against the ground.

Calumon's eyes popped wide at this unexpected behavior and he immediately began to bounce after her.

"Where are you going?!"

"Rika!" Henry shouted after her, no less shocked than Calumon. Although he would never claim to know her very well, he _never_ expected her to simply _run_ from a fight that was going on right in front of her, especially when it involved Renamon. _Oh man… I completely misjudged things._

"What's with her?" Terriermon asked. "She still spooked from the IceDevimon stuff?"

"Never mind her for now," Henry snapped. "We've got to get in there!"

**###**

Renamon slammed into the ground, electricity from the Flybeemon's attacks sparking around her body. Her muscles were screaming in pain, the electricity having caused them to seize up all at once. They were loosening now, but it would take time – seconds – for her to recover.

_I didn't have even one second,_ she thought. _Rika… She's not coming. I'm on my own._

The thought hung there, and Renamon found herself disquieted by it. Was this her sole lot in life? To be bereft of anyone who cared about her? Her fellow Nightmare Soldiers didn't feel a thing for her or for each other, save perhaps Musyamon for their comrade Devidramon. Was Rika like them?

The buzzing grew louder, and she thought of her conversation with Henry.

" _The digital world doesn't hand out digivices for no reason. Especially since our two worlds are caught up in a symbiotic relationship. What happens to one affects the other. For our two worlds to coexist, there needs to be peace and harmony."_

_There is no peace and harmony… Only two forces…clashing against each other, and the rest of us are caught between them. Like metal forged upon an anvil…_

The Flybeemon were drawing closer. Of course they were. Their orders were to take her to their superior, whoever they were. No doubt one of the forces aligned with the Light. And then, when she served no purpose to them, they would execute her as an enemy of Light, casting her to the Dark Area where she would never see the sun…or Rika…ever again.

_Rika…_

Her eyes snapped open and new energy surged through her body. Flipping up to her feet, she leapt forward, shooting past the two Flybeemon. She spun around in midair and crossed her arms together just as they landed. An orb of light appeared before her and she slashed her arms outward, shattering the orb and transforming it into dozens of razor sharp shards of crystalline light.

_"Diamond Storm!"_ she shouted, and the shards fell upon her adversaries, slicing clean through their armored bodies and penetrating the digi-core within. Their bodies broke apart with their screams of pain as Renamon landed. Not wasting any time, a soft glow overtook her body and she rose into the air once more, hovering as she took in their data. She felt new energy suffuse within her, soothing her pain and healing her injuries.

"I did it," she said, touching back down. "I destroyed them _without_ Rika's help!"

Yet, she frowned, uncertainly. She didn't feel any better for her victory. All she felt was…empty.

_Tsking_ to herself as the digital field parted, she leapt up and over the chain link fence, landing behind Henry, who was now dropping off himself.

"Renamon," he called to her. "Rika was here. I think she's worried about you."

"She is?" the vulpine digimon asked in mock surprise. "Are you sure?"

"She was all white-face and jumpy you know?" piped up Terriermon from Henry's shoulder. "She was in a bad way."

"Rika?" Renamon scoffed angrily. "I doubt it."

_Why would she come? She didn't come to help. She would never show concern for others._

"Renamon," pressed Henry. "You two fit together. You should be partners, not enemies."

_"Partners?!"_ Renamon asked in disbelief, as if the word were completely alien to her. "You keep using that word. Am I supposed to know what it means?"

"It's like this," Henry began, trying not to be exasperated by Renamon's tone. "Terriermon and I are both friends _and_ equals."

"Equals." Renamon narrowed her eyes at the boy. Henry bobbed his head up and down in response.

"Exactly. We know each other's strengths and weaknesses. Like I said; we _fit_ together. You and Rika _fit_ together. Takato's teacher…one of the Digidestined… She and her partner, Gatomon, told me something yesterday. When I was having my…difficulties, they were reflected in Terriermon. When he digivolved, he ran out of control, and that was because I was so worried about not _being_ in control. Both of you must have had something in common or you wouldn't have become partners in the first place. It was _no_ coincidence, I'm sure of it."

Renamon stared glacially at Henry, anger still throbbing within her.

"Not a coincidence?" she asked evenly. "Of course it was no coincidence. Weren't you listening to IceDevimon? My master _chose_ us to be partners. We have _nothing_ in common except the desire to get stronger."

"Renamon…"

"Enough, _human,"_ Renamon said harshly, turning away. "This conversation is over."

With that, the vulpine digimon vanished from view, leaving Henry and Terriermon alone in the park.

"Those two get more colorful by the day, don't they?" Terriermon asked with a groan.

For once, Henry could only nod in agreement.


	66. Episode 12: Broken Hope, Broken Heart

Seraphimon stood at the top of his castle, gazing out in the direction of the Continent of Darkness. Lightning crackled within its bleak clouds, causing Seraphimon's helmet to illuminate as thunder crashed.

"Cherubimon," he said calmly. "Why are you here?"

The form of the beast-Celestial materialized off to his side, his massive hands slamming down upon the rooftop of the castle. Frowning beneath his helm, the archangel turned toward him.

"I desire to speak to you concerning Lady Ophanimon," Cherubimon replied, rising to his feet. "Her desire to capture the Renamon from the human world… She should not trouble herself with the task. The Renamon is a beast-digimon. She falls under my jurisdiction."

"She is not a citizen of our world," Seraphimon reminded. "She is a rebel, and I should remind you that this was already decided. There will be no further discussion on the matter until the Renamon is either dead or within our custody."

Cherubimon chortled. "Two human-digimon rulers voted against the sole beast… That does not seem like a _fair_ vote. Perhaps Yggdrasil…"

"Yggdrasil's attentions are in another area of the digital world," Seraphimon interrupted. "She would side with us regardless, given the situation. Ophanimon is the best compromise without the Royal Knights intervening."

Cherubimon spat to the side at the mention of the Royal Knights, causing Seraphimon to focus on him more attentively.

"The Royal Knights…" Cherubimon laughed bitterly. "They are of no use to us. Their leader is lord of an empty seat, appearing only when he desires to. Omnimon will only act when commanded to, and of Crusadermon and Dynasmon… The less said about the fallen the better."

"They will be cleansed one day," Seraphimon promised. "However, you concern me of late, Cherubimon. Your words speak often with the bitter taste of darkness. There is a shadow upon your soul because of these events. This is more than just a single beast digimon…"

"It has always been more than a single beast digimon," Cherubimon replied. "Always. Lucemon's defeat changed nothing in this world."

A cruel smile drew itself across his face just then, and a golden, demonic glow burned within his eyes. "That will change though. The _world_ will change. I came here not to bandy words with you, but to tell you that. You deserved to be the first to know."

Seraphimon narrowed his gaze behind his helm uncertainly. Why him alone and why him first? Surely Ophanimon deserved to hear it first, as this was her task? And if not, why not when they were in council together? Why…?

There came a crack of thunder off in the distance. Turning, the archangel saw a flash of light and a mountain mass disappeared in the blink of an eye.

_Fractal code…_

"Cherubimon…?" he began, turning toward his fellow Celestial only for further words to grind to a halt. Seraphimon found himself surprised to find that his companion's form had undergone a _drastic_ change. Gone was the pink fur, replaced by blues and violets. Fangs stood out prominently from his mouth, and his collar was a tattered, ruined mess. His holy ring, most notably, was absent as well.

_Viral infection…_ he thought, recognizing the signs.

"Cherubimon…" he began, light glowing around his fists. "What have you done?"

"Only what needs to be done," the demonic Celestial laughed, before hurling a bolt of lightning at Seraphimon. _"Lightning Spear!"_

**###**

Kari made her way through the school hallway, her expression dour with a hint of annoyance. The school day was _finally_ over and she had nothing more to do except to grade papers, yet despite this, the world somehow found a way to throw a wrench into the works by having a visitor arrive, wanting to speak to her.

_It's probably a newspaper reporter,_ she thought. She wouldn't be surprised, given what happened yesterday, but she had thought that Takeru would have found a way to ensure that she and the others were 'hands off' with regards to interviews.

_Then again, they always find a way to get around that sort of thing,_ she thought, remembering one in particular from some years back. She wondered what her name had been, while pushing open the door to the main office. Ruki, she thought…

"Ms. Kamiya," began the receptionist as soon as she stepped inside. "There you are. There's a man here to see you. A mister…Takeru Takaishi…"

_Takeru!_ Kari's mind exclaimed, her eyes widening ever so slightly. She managed to maintain control over her sudden rush of panic and surprise, simply nodding to the receptionist.

"Thank you," she replied. "Is he…?"

"…waiting for you," came the voice of the head of Hypnos as he flicked his lighter shut with a loud _clink._ "Afternoon."

"Tak- Mr. Takaishi," she said, catching herself at the last minute. "Can I help you with something?" she asked, quickly composing herself.

"Let's go for a walk," he said, indicating the outside. Kari furrowed her brow, not understanding.

"Mr. Takaishi, may I ask how long this is going to take? I have papers to grade."

"It won't take long, I assure you. I would prefer the privacy of just the two of us."

_Just the two of us…_ Kari closed her eyes and hitched a sigh. Once upon a time, those words would have filled her with excitement and happiness. Now however, they came with dread. It wasn't that she was afraid of what he might do to her, far from it. However, his cold, distant demeanor remained…unsettling.

"All right," she said, gesturing to the door. "After you."

Takeru nodded and flicked his lighter open, nodding to the receptionist before they parted together. Within short order, they were both outside, leaving Kari to enjoy the warm, fresh air of summer.

_In the United States, the students would already be out,_ she thought, unable to imagine such levels of freedom. Here, she only had one month. Not that she didn't keep busy even then but there was a significant and noticeable reduction in stress.

"I'm sorry for this," Takeru began, once they had put enough distance between themselves and the school building. "I did not want to chance our conversation being overheard."

"At an elementary school?" Kari chided, though her tone was without humor. Takeru flicked his lighter closed.

"The walls have ears, I've found," Takeru replied, flicking the lighter open. Kari glanced down at it and raised an eyebrow.

_That's his father's,_ she thought, noticing it for the first time. She pressed her lips together, remembering the man. Although he hadn't been family, she missed him in a way. Hiroaki Ishida, like his ex-wife, worked hard to tell their story and record the events of the war.

"I see," she finally said, tearing her eyes away from the lighter and back up to Takeru's face. "Back to my original question… Why are you here?"

"Your student…Takato Matsuki," he said, flicking his lighter closed. "How is he handling his situation as a Tamer? You said that he was the target of the Musyamon from yesterday…"

"He seems to be doing well," Kari replied guardedly. "I keep up with him outside of my normal duties, and he hasn't said much…"

"But?"

Kari sighed. "I _am_ worried. He knows his partner isn't a normal digimon, and the Hazard mark on his body doesn't help things. So far, he's been lucky. Guilmon has been largely confined to the park, so his exposure to people who might be afraid of him is limited, but…if things continue…" She paused and turned to face the man she once called friend more fully. "Takeru… _Is_ there something coming our way? After all these years, _why_ is the digital world choosing these children? Why did that Musyamon target him? What about… _anything_ is going on here?"

Her expression softened as a breeze blew over them, ruffling their hair.

"Please Takeru… Takato's my student. Rika and Henry aren't but…they're still children. I know we were as well, but…we have the chance to do better with them than we did during our adventures by ourselves."

"That is why I have placed them under observation." Takeru flicked his lighter open.

"Is that really necessary?"

"Considering that some of our citizens nearly mobbed you all yesterday on top of a digimon attack, I believe it is."

Kari bit her tongue at that. She couldn't really argue there.

"The Nonaka girl…" he continued. "She is continuing to have trouble with her partner."

"That's understandable, given the circumstances," Kari nodded, remembering the brutal battle with IceDevimon, and the shocking reveal that the two had been working together before to bring Rika over to the side of Darkness.

"Do you believe their partnership can be repaired?"

Kari cocked an eyebrow in surprise at that. "I…don't know. I don't know them well enough really. Sora would be better to ask."

Takeru nodded, prompting Kari to tilt her head to one side.

"Takeru… About my question…"

_"Be it light or darkness; should the Primary Colors join hands, they will expand infinitely,"_ Takeru replied, causing Kari to blink. He sounded as though he were quoting something. Reaching up, he took off his sunglasses, revealing a pair of blue eyes, tired, but guarded. Kari's breath caught in her throat upon seeing them. She felt as though there was something behind those eyes. More than what he wasn't telling her. Some…sight. Something he had seen at some point in the past. Whatever it was, it sent a shiver down her spine.

She shook her head to clear her mind of those eyes. Looking back up, she still saw that same ghostly visage within them, but they were tolerable now.

"What does that mean?" she asked. _"Primary Colors?_ Takeru, you're not making any sense!"

"Neither did Gennai when he spoke of prophecy," he said, flicking his lighter closed with a loud, punctuating _click._ He slipped his shades back on and nodded to the Digidestined of Light. "I trust that you will continue to watch over those three. They have a world of work ahead of them."

"I… Takeru!"

The man hesitated, frowning beneath his sunglasses. "Goodbye…Kari Kamiya. Until the next time."

With that, he turned and started toward the gate. Growling, the Digidestined of Light went after him and grabbed hold of him by the arm, whirling him about forcefully. "Damn it Takeru!" she exclaimed. "This is _not_ the time to be playing around like this! They're…!"

"The _walls_ have ears," Takeru interrupted sternly, and with meaning. Kari felt a shock at the word _wall,_ and she retracted her hand.

"Takeru…?" she whispered, searching his now hidden eyes for what that meaning was. In them, she only saw darkness and…

She tensed up, her heart clenching as she remembered the darkness that had once held her prisoner. She balled her hands up into fists and forced herself to calm down. Looking up, she saw that he too looked tense. The Dark Ocean left its touch on everyone who walked its shores…or swam beneath its black waters.

"The walls…" she shuddered. "Those walls."

_The firewall…_

"All right," she said. Releasing his arm, she took a step back. "You've said all you're going to say…haven't you?"

"That is all," Takeru replied, adjusting his necktie. He bowed politely to her and then turned away from Kari, leaving her to watch his retreating back for a moment before heading back toward the school herself.

She had the distinct feeling that she was going to end up taking a lot of work home with her tonight.

**###**

Takato and Henry found themselves wandering through a neighborhood, Henry having wanted to fill him in about the incident with Renamon and Rika at the park – to both keep him informed and to simply talk out his concerns. Takato listened carefully, feeling a touch of worry about the duo. Rika turning and running from a fight – abandoning her partner – was just so unlike what he came to expect from her that…well… He honestly wasn't sure how to respond.

_She's still hurting because of IceDevimon,_ he thought, his hands clenching together tightly. _Even though he's gone, he's still causing trouble…_

"It was one strange conversation, I can tell you that," Henry continued as they made their way through the neighborhood. "What would you have said?"

Takato blinked, somewhat surprised by Henry's question. He thought that the boy had done good enough from what he had said to him.

_What would I have said though?_ he wondered, turning his eyes skyward. "About Guilmon? I don't know. It's hard to put in words."

_Hard to put in words for sure,_ Takato thought a bit humorously, trying to imagine Guilmon thinking as deeply as Henry often did. At once he saw the red-dinosaur wearing a university hat with glasses while reading a book…upside down. It brought a smile onto his face as he looked back at his fellow Tamer.

"He's not exactly your average digimon, huh?" His expression sobered quickly and he looked away. "He's my friend, and I can rely on him no matter what. But Renamon and Rika… They don't seem to understand that. I wish we could help."

"Me too," Henry agreed. As much as he didn't like Rika, given how often they seemed to get on her bad side, he didn't like the idea of seeing two people who were supposed to not only work together but trust each other with their hearts and souls do precisely the opposite of that.

_Funny…_ he thought idly. _I never thought of the broken heart on Rika's shirt as being a literal representation of how she is. Maybe there's something to that._

"So weird," Takato continued. "I bet it's just eating her up, huh?"

"I'd imagine that it is, but with her you just never know." They turned a corner and Henry sighed. "Anyway, I've got to get going. Sorry that we didn't get around to your card training."

"It's no big deal," Takato shrugged before laughing awkwardly. "Well, I mean it kind of but is, but it sounded like you really needed to get this off your chest."

"I did," Henry acknowledged reluctantly before offering the goggle-wearing boy a small smile. "Thanks. I'll see you around."

With a wave, the two of them parted ways, leaving Takato to stand alone in the street for a moment, watching him go before his gaze fell upon the twin towers of the Shinjuku government building.

_Ms. Kamiya said something about Mr. Takaishi working there,_ he thought. _The Digidestined of Hope…_

One of the legends amongst the Digidestined, and one that was considered among the most tragic. The only Digidestined that separated himself from the others, outside of Tai Kamiya, who remained in the digital world, and Joe Kido, who worked to become a doctor. His partner, one of only two of the eight to be killed in combat, and the only one to have been loaded, effectively making him 'dead' in all the ways that mattered.

He couldn't imagine how that must have felt. Guilmon meant everything to him, and although the two had only been together for a short period of time, it felt as though they had always been together.

_Guilmon… He's a part of me,_ he thought with quiet realization. _Dad always said that you put a little bit of yourself into whatever you make, but it feels like it's…literal in this case._

His eyes softened, his thoughts turning to Rika. _Doesn't…she feel the same way about Renamon?_ His hand went up to the spot where she had punched him, the bruise still prominent on his cheekbone, though no longer as obvious as it had been.

_Maybe that's why she ran? Maybe…_

Takato suddenly let out an exasperated groan and dug his hands into his hair in frustration. _I don't know where I'm going with this. I'm not like Henry. I'm…_

"Takato!"

_Right. I'm Takato and… Wait. What?_

Turning at the sound of the voice calling him, he found Jeri Katou rapidly running over. Takato blanched, tensing up, uncertain as to whether he should run or stand his ground. He quickly found that in his split second of indecision, the brown-haired girl quickly took it away from him as she came to a stop in front of him, folding her hands neatly together before beaming at him, as though happy to have finally caught him.

"Takato…" she greeted, taking a second to catch her breath. Swallowing, Takato nodded back, remembering that she had seen his argument with Kazu and Kenta earlier in the day.

"Uh…hi…Jeri…"

"Hi," she returned, before her expression changed, becoming a bit…ashamed?

_Something's off here,_ Takato thought as Jeri shifted uncomfortably on one foot to the other before continuing, and when she did, it all came out in one rapid gush of words to explain herself before Takato could get a word in edge wise.

"I know it's not nice to listen to other people's conversations, but I just couldn't help it," she said, causing the boy's eyes to widen. It looked like the conversation was going to be on _this_ topic whether he liked it or not.

"Why were you arguing with Kenta and Kazu?" she pressed, leaning forward slightly.

"Ah…arguing?" Takato asked, raising his hands now. His brain was now moving at a rapid pace, trying to work out a plan by which could help him escape this confrontation.

Unfortunately, the best he could come up with was repeating what Jeri said, only with fewer words, as though he were trying to figure out what she was talking about.

"It sounded like you were arguing about a real digimon," Jeri said, placing one hand over her chest and stepping closer toward the boy, who promptly stepped back in response, scratching at the side of his face, his confidence starting to collapse. He could lie, he knew, but with how worked up he was, any lie would just simply not be believable in any way, and he was already poor at that particular talent.

"A real…digimon?"

"Will you _stop_ repeating me?!" Jeri exclaimed, stepping closer again as she brought both her hands in front of her; not to threaten but to show the intensity and sincerity of her curiosity. "Is it true?"

Takato felt beads of sweat begin to crawl down his flushed face. _Oh man… What am I going to do? What am I_ supposed _to do?_

He hadn't been told to keep Guilmon a secret after all, though he tried once the issue regarding the hazard sign on his partner's chest became more of an issue. Up until that point, he only meant to keep him secret from his parents until he felt more comfortable coming out to them about being a Tamer.

His eyes went back and forth to Jeri and the pavement, trying to gauge the situation.

"If I told you that it was, would you believe me?" he asked tentatively. "You wouldn't be scared?"

"I'd believe you!" Jeri exclaimed eagerly. "I want to see him! Please?"

Takato burst into a fit of nervous laughter before a firework crashed in his mind.

_Did she just say that she…wants…to see…Guilmon?_

"Wha…?" came the intelligent response to Jeri's eagerness. His crimson eyes met her amber ones, and he saw the excitement… The curiosity that he knew all too well from his first sighting of a digimon. The excitement that he always thought Kazu and Kenta would have shown upon seeing Guilmon.

Now here was Jeri, a kindred spirit right in front of him, looking just as he did so very long ago, with wonder in her eyes.

A small, nervous smile bloomed across his rapidly blushing face. How could he say no to that?

**###**

Rika stormed into her home, ignoring the tiny white blob of Calumon as he floated after her, his large eyes regarding her with concern. Entering her home, she shut the door on him and took off her shoes. She heard his exclamations of surprise, but she ignored that too.

The way she felt right now, she wanted to ignore the whole world.

"You're home early today," came the voice of her grandmother, emerging from the kitchen. "You're usually out until later. Where've you been?"

Rika paused in her stride, but didn't turn to look at the elder matriarch of the household. "Nowhere," she said flatly, indicating an end to the conversation. Seiko tilted her head to one side at her tone.

"Hey, would you mind running out with me and getting some potatoes? I need them for a special recipe I'm making."

Rika dropped her head and scowled at the floor.

"Why?" she asked, her tone acidic. Seiko scrunched her eyebrows together, becoming concerned.

"Well because," she began carefully, "it wouldn't be potato soup without them. Aren't you hungry dear?"

"I hate potatoes," Rika replied coldly, still not meeting her grandmother's gaze. "And I don't want any food!"

She moved on before her grandmother could say anything more. Seiko let out a small sigh, hearing the sound of the girl slamming her slide door more roughly than was normal for her. Composing herself, she strode after her.

**###**

Rika tore off her digivice and card box from her belt again and hurled them in the trash. It didn't make her feel any better though. Her relationship with Renamon felt exactly like that; like _trash._ She had been discarded by Renamon once she was no longer necessary. If she had ever been necessary to begin with. With a depressed groan, she sat down in front of her bedroom table and laid her head down upon it. She wasn't comfortable, but she didn't care. Nothing seemed to matter anymore.

_First Papa and Mom, and now Renamon…_ a part of her thought before her door slid open behind her, revealing her grandmother.

"Would you like to talk about it?" Seiko asked softly. When Rika didn't respond, she became crestfallen. "You barely ever speak to me," she continued. "How am I supposed to know what you want? I'm trying to understand you, but you always treat me like I'm the enemy. I was your age once you know. If you'd just give me a chance, I might be able to help. Please Rika. Tell me what's wrong."

"Just forget it," Rika muttered in response. "You wouldn't understand."

Seiko sighed mentally and closed her eyes. _Then…it is true. This is about the Renamon._

She hadn't visited Sora in the hospital as of yet, preferring to go when Rika was ready, but the young girl had been staunchly stubborn, avoiding the topic and isolating herself even more so than before. Seiko couldn't help but notice that she hadn't seen so much as a hint of the vulpine digimon since Sora and Biyomon entered the hospital.

Correlation may not be causation, but the coincidence remained too great to be ignored.

_Whatever the case may be, Rika feels as though she is helpless to do anything,_ she thought. Small wonder. In spite of the wealth afforded to her by her mother and the Hata clan, Rika was often left without a sense of control over her path in life. Coupled with being of mixed heritage, she would have felt alone and disconnected from others. The only thing left for her was…herself.

"Maybe you're not old enough to understand this," she said finally, "but no one can make it in this world on their own. People are meant to be together."

Stepping back, she placed a hand on the doorframe, giving the girl a sympathetic look.

"You're expecting way too much of yourself Rika. There are always people who will be there for you, even if they're not always easy to see or find."

There came no response from the young girl, and Seiko closed her eyes in deep thought.

"I'll be down the hall if you need me," she said finally, releasing her hold on the door and heading back down where she came. There was little she could do at the moment. A person who did not accept help could not be reached. Help could be forced, but it was rare that doing so made a difference beyond merely continuing the cycle. In the end, change had to be desired first with an acknowledgement of that desire to be worked for, and the long road that came with it.

She could only hope that Rika would learn that before it was too late.


	67. Episode 12: The Two Hearts

Ophanimon pursed her lips together as she gazed into her seeing-orb, not happy with the death of her soldiers.

_The Renamon shows no respect for life,_ she thought, dismissing the orb's vision and stepping away. _I need someone stronger…_

Reaching up, she tapped the air and a screen materialized in front of her, revealing one of her closest servants. She was avian in appearance with powerful looking, white-feathered wings. She was garbed in bright armor with a humanoid facial mask, and great powerful talons shone on her feet.

She was known as Harpymon, descended from ancient digimon from a time when the normal means of digivolving was difficult, and she carried on the proud traditions of her ancestors by serving the forces of Light. None were more loyal to the cause of Light than her, and being a beast digimon, she was perhaps better suited to combating the Renamon.

_"My lady Ophanimon,"_ she greeted, crossing her wings in front of her and bowing. _"How may I serve you?"_

"Go to the human world," the angelic Celestial commanded. "There is a Renamon that is a criminal. Bring her here alive, if possible, but be wary. She is dangerous. She has already deleted and loaded three of your companions sent to apprehend her. The Flybeemon siblings."

Harpymon made a low, angry, keening sound at the news, clearly angry. She had known the three well and served with them in many a peacekeeping action.

_She will miss them,_ Ophanimon thought, tapping the screen again. "I am sending you all the necessary information. Again, be careful, Harpymon. Do not take her lightly."

_"As you command, my lady,"_ Harpymon replied before her screen winked out. Ophanimo sighed, wishing that she could do more. She hated putting her agents at risk, yet the current treaties forbade her from involving herself directly.

_I trust that this matter is resolved quickly and quietly. The balance between the two worlds is already strained and…eh?_

The seeing orb shone brightly and then projected an image of Cherubimon into the room. His form was shrouded in shadow, though that was hardly surprising. The Continent of Darkness by its very nature often made visual communications difficult.

_"Lady Ophanimon,"_ Cherubimon said, his voice deep and gravelly. _"If I may be permitted to ask, how goes the operation regarding the beast digimon?"_

"There has been a minor setback," Ophanimon replied. "She is a powerful and illusive digimon for her level. I suspect that she will be brought here soon however, and then we can get to the business of our investigation into the matter."

_"All very well then,"_ Cherubimon replied. _"However, I have an urgent matter to discuss with you in private, as it cannot be done through our communications. I humbly request that you come to the Rose Morning Star at your soonest convenience. I must go now. My warriors have matters that require my attending."_

With that, Cherubimon's visage winked out of existence, leaving a very puzzled and concerned Ophanimon.

"His warriors…?" she wondered aloud. "Is there some conflict occurring in the Continent of Darkness?"

She puzzled over his words for a moment before deciding to head out to the dark land. Surely this was a matter of great concern if he was summoning soldiers.

Still… Taking a moment, she passed a hand over her orb to contact Seraphimon, however no reply came from his end. Frowning beneath her helm, she dismissed the orb.

_Perhaps he too has been summoned by Cherubimon. It could very well be that the Nightmare Soldiers are within his land and he requires assistance._

Rising into the air, she tapped the air again, and a new screen appeared, this time of a beastial, cat-like woman with wings and a facial mask. Her tail flicked as she turned toward the screen and bowed her head politely.

_"My lady Ophanimon,"_ Nefertimon greeted. _"How may I be of service?"_

"I am leaving for the Rose Morning Star," Ophanimon replied. "You are in charge of the castle while I am gone."

_"Yes my lady."_

**###**

"Is she going to be okay?"

Sora looked through the window at her partner, still laying in the isolation unit that kept her stabilized. Her condition, Joe had told her, was definitely improving, but she was still a ways off from being released.

From Sora's perspective, seeing her covered in wires and still unconscious, she didn't look like it. She looked…fragile.

"She will be," Joe repeated, looking down at his clipboard. "She's at 75 percent recovery rate now. All that's left is to do when the over-write is finished is to defragment her data and then…" He turned over a page. "…that should be it."

"I hate to leave her though…" Sora said mournfully. Joe raised an eyebrow at her.

"Um…I hate to be the one to point this out, but…it is visiting hours still. We're not throwing you out."

Sora pulled herself away from the window, one hand hugging her arm as she frowned.

"I have to though," she said, dropping her hand to her side. "There's something I need to do. Someone else who I think needs some help, and…I wasn't there for her. Being in the hospital after all…"

Joe looked no less confused, but he turned to look back at Biyomon.

"If it's that important, go on ahead. Biyomon's out of the worst of it. We can take things from here." He glanced back at the girl, smiling. "She'll still be here when you get back. I promise."

Sora laughed and ruffled the taller man's hair good-naturedly. "Good old reliable Joe. Where would we be without you?"

"I could think of a few places," Joe replied with a grin. "I think it'd be the same place we'd be if we didn't have any one of us together."

Sora retracted her hand, her smile declining a little as she thought of Takeru. Joe must have had the same thought because he nodded to her, his own expression sobering as well.

"Better get going so you can be back before visiting hours are over," he said. Nodding, the Digidestined of Love left her friend and her partner for the one whose heart needed healing the most at the moment.

**###**

_This may be the absolute dumbest thing I've ever done,_ thought Takato as he led Jeri up the stairs to Guilmon's hideout, and with good reason. The confidence he felt from her eagerness evaporated with every step, destroyed by memories of Kazu and Kenta's reaction to Guilmon. He couldn't expect Jeri to react any better.

_Heck,_ I _got pretty freaked out by Guilmon back when I first met him. I thought he was going to eat me! I mean, sure, Guilmon is pretty cool, but…_

He swallowed nervously upon reaching the gate.

_…he's still a Hazard digimon and he's also a fire breathing dinosaur._

Takato felt sick to his stomach. If he had known he would be bringing his partner into the world with so many difficulties, he probably would have considered rethinking things.

_Where did the Digital Hazard come from in the first place?_ he wondered distractedly before brushing it off.

Jeri peaked over his shoulder, peering into the concrete hut. "Does he live here?" she whispered, causing Takato to blink, startled.

_There I go again, getting lost in my own head._

"Oh! Yeah, that's right."

"A real digimon?"

Takato smiled at her curiosity, feeling a little bit better upon seeing her shining eyes. There was a warm openness about them that he found a bit soothing. It didn't wholly settle his fears, but he could move again.

"Amazing, huh?" he replied. "Wait until you see him. I created him you know."

"You did?! Wow! What kind of digimon is he?" Jeri asked, a smile blooming on her face. Takato felt even better at how impressed she sounded by this. Emboldened, Takato turned toward her and raised his hands excitedly.

"He's tough and baby can he fight! His special attack is _Pyro Sphere!"_

Seeing movement out of the corner of her eye, Jeri turned to find a pair of golden, yellow eyes gleaming in the darkness approaching them. Following her gaze, Takato immediately remembered Kazu and Kenta again and tensed up, expecting the worst.

_Whoops. This could get ugly,_ he thought as Guilmon made a snarling snort from the darkness, causing Jeri to look anxious.

It was time for damage control.

"I was just kidding!" he said suddenly interposing himself between Jeri and the gate. "It's fake! You know, rubber eyes; flashlight. I had you going there, didn't I? You know how us boys are."

Jeri looked at him first in confusion, and then with a hurt expression. "Huh? But…you…" she began, trying to understand what he was saying. He had seemed so confident before, and she never pegged him as the sort to lie to someone, especially over something like this. What was going on?

Before she could finish sorting out the puzzle to Takato's behavior, a crimson-scaled dinosaur emerged from the shadows and turned his big, child-like, golden eyes at the boy before speaking in what could only be the most adorable and innocent sounding voice she ever heard.

"Hey Takato. I'm hungry. Did you bring some bread?"

"I'm sorry if I…" Takato continued babbling before he abruptly ground to a halt. Panic set in and he froze in place, fearing Jeri's reaction.

Sure enough, she pointed at Guilmon and screamed.

Takato groaned and planted his face in the palms of his hands just in time to miss Jeri rush right past him and clasp her arms around the dinosaur in a powerful, happy hug.

_"Cute!"_ she exclaimed as Guilmon raised his arms uncertainly and looked at Takato, not sure at all what to do in this situation.

"You brought a friend instead," was all he could say as Jeri smothered him with hugs. Takato pulled his head out of his hands and looked at Jeri, taken aback by the unexpected display of affection. This was _far_ from everything he thought would happen.

_Well… It sure beats the alternative._

"Did you say cute?" he asked her. "You meant cool, didn't you?"

"I don't mind cute," Guilmon replied as Jeri pulled back, brushing the bangs of her hair out of her eyes. "But who is she?"

"Oops, I'm sorry," she apologized, taking hold of Guilmon's clawed hand and shaking it. "I'm Jeri."

"I'm Guilmon," the dinosaur replied. "Nice to meet'cha." He turned toward Takato curiously. "Is she your girlfriend?"

At this, Takato twitched and blushed, wondering how he knew about that. He didn't remember ever telling Guilmon about boyfriends and girlfriends.

_Terriermon…_ He thought in Henry's voice, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Uh… Well…she's a friend."

"Guilmon, guess what?" Jeri asked, reaching into her pocket, rummaging around inside. "I've got a little present for you."

Pulling out her hand, she produced a sticker. Peeling it off, she approached the dinosaur and stuck it on his nose.

"I'm gonna put it right…here!" she giggled. "Perfect!"

Guilmon smiled and looked at Takato. Whatever it was, it didn't smell nor did it hurt, which he supposed was… "Not bad. What do you think?"

Takato's expression twitched a little. "It's…cute all right," he admitted reluctantly.

_I can't believe I just said that…_ he thought as both girl and digital dinosaur began to laugh.

**###**

Renamon stood atop a building, staring out over the city, her blue eyes searching it.

_I_ won _the fight,_ she thought quietly. _So why do I feel like I lost? Something doesn't feel right. Something is missing._

Almost against her will, her eyes fell in the direction of Rika's home, and she thought of her discussion with Henry following the battle with the Flybeemon.

_"Renamon," pressed Henry. "You two fit together. You should be partners, not enemies."_

"Partners?!" _Renamon asked in disbelief, as if the word were completely alien to her. "You keep using that word. Am I supposed to know what it means?"_

_"It's like this," Henry began, trying not to be exasperated by Renamon's tone._ _"Terriermon and I are both friends_ and _equals."_

_"Equals." Renamon narrowed her eyes at the boy. Henry bobbed his head up and down in response._

_"Exactly. We know each other's strengths and weaknesses. Like I said;_ _we_ fit _together. You and Rika_ fit _together. Takato's teacher…one of the Digidestined… She and her partner, Gatomon, told me something yesterday. When I was having my…difficulties, they were reflected in Terriermon. When he digivolved, he ran out of control, and that was because I was so worried about not_ being _in control. Both of you must have had something in common or you wouldn't have become partners in the first place. It was no coincidence, I'm sure of it."_

Renamon tore her gaze away from the direction of Rika's home, anger flashing through her. There was nothing there for her anymore, yet everyone kept trying to tell her otherwise.

_Why? Why does it matter to them? Why…?_

Movement caught her attention, and she zeroed in on the form of Impmon, hopping from rooftop to rooftop.

"Now what is he up to?" she wondered aloud. She found her curiosity caught now. There were certainly many digimon in the real world, but not many existed in this city save for a handful who escaped detection or were otherwise partnered with a human. Impmon fell into the former category and didn't seem to experience any trouble that she saw for his lack of a partner.

Questions on her mind, she vanished into thin air, following him.

**###**

Another day found Impmon bored. Humans were, as usual, predictable. Stand out, make some spooky noises and a show of fire and they ran off screaming. So routine. So familiar.

_Sheesh. I've gotten so used to things being the same that I'm treading on old ground,_ he thought, finding himself in a familiar neighborhood. Making an annoyed _tsking_ sound, he continued on. _Well, it's not like I've got anything better to do…_

Coming to a rest at last on a rooftop, he set himself down and looked into the window of the home across the street. Inside were two children, locked in a tug of war with a teddy bear.

_Humans…_ he thought disdainfully as they pulled all the more tightly on the poor bear's arms. _Look at them._ Dogs _have more sense!_

Now that he thought about it though, he felt as though he were being insulting to dogs, treating them as though they were just barely above humans. Going a step further, humans had _no_ sense at all as far as he was concerned. Everything that existed in this world had more sense. _Blades of grass_ had more sense. _Worms_ had more sense. Humans? They only thought of themselves, and here he was proven correct.

As he watched, the teddy bear's arms stretched and a seam began to tear.

"Come on!" the girl shouting so loudly that Impmon could hear her from where he sat. "It's my turn!"

"No way! Momma said he's mine!" cried the boy, pulling back even harder, causing the tear to widen unseen.

"Oh yeah? Well you gotta share!" the girl yelled back, giving a particularly hard tug just in time for the boy's yank. Sure enough, because they weren't paying attention…because of their complete and utter focus on themselves – their own selfishness – the bear's arm tore off, sending the two children collapsing to the floor, stuffing spilling out of the gaping wound.

The fall wasn't serious. Indeed, the two children looked more startled by what happened than anything else. However, the second passed and what happened sunk into them and they both began balling loudly; not for what they did to the poor Mr. Bear, but because they fell and most assuredly blamed the other for what happened to their beloved toy.

_"Impmon!"_

The memory of the loud, demanding voice played through the diminutive digimon's mind as he clutched hold of his trembling arms.

_That could have been me,_ he thought, his whole body joining his arms in their shivering. _I'm glad I got out of there when I did._

He twitched just then, something tugging at the corners of his senses. Growling angrily, he turned to find Renamon standing behind him, gazing at him curiously.

"Well what?" he demanded heatedly, not liking how she snuck up on him.

"What is wrong with you?" she asked, having seen his unusual behavior. Spinning back around, Impmon composed himself, pushing the scene…and the memory…out of his mind.

"Not a blasted thing, toots!" he replied. "Now toodles!"

With that, he shot off into the air, leaving Renamon behind. The kitsune's tail slashed through the air and turned her attention to the house below, uncertain as to what it was about the two crying children that would have upset him so. Dismissing it, she turned and vanished back into thin air, following after Impmon.

**###**

Sora arrived at the Nonaka residence in record time. Stepping through the gate's main entrance, she looked around the yard, half expecting – _hoping –_ to find Seiko or Rika. Rika especially, but if not her than at least Seiko, so that she could be directed to the girl.

She noted that Rika was nowhere to be seen.

_Normally she'd be lounging around on a day like today,_ she thought. _Well, if she stuck around that is._

She suspected that Rika did. She knew the girl well. In the absence of her mother's presence, she had the tendency to lock herself away inside her room when upset about something.

"Hello?" she called out, walking up the path to the front door. "Is anyone home?"

A door slid open, and Seiko appeared and smiled upon seeing Sora. The Digidestined of Love returned it and bowed politely.

"Hello Seiko," she greeted. "It is good to see you?"

"And you," Seiko nodded. "I'm glad you're all right." She angled her head and furrowed her brow, noticing the absence of someone.

"Biyomon is still in the hospital," Sora clarified. "She's doing better, but recovery is, well, a bit slow considering what she went through."

"I see. Well…as long as she's doing well. I do worry about her though." Pausing, she drew her hands together in front of her. "I'm sorry that we haven't visited you. I wanted to go when Rika was ready, but…" She cast a meaningful glance down in the direction of Rika's room.

"That's fine," Sora replied, understanding what she meant. "I actually came down here to talk to her. Did she…tell you anything?"

"No." Seiko shook her head. "I'm afraid I haven't had any luck with her. I haven't seen her partner around since you were admitted to the hospital." There was a flash of concern in her eyes just then. "She wasn't…"

"No," Sora shook her head. "Renamon was alive and well when I last saw her. She and Rika… Well… Let me have a talk with her. I'll tell you about it later if you want. Hope you don't mind."

"Not at all. I last saw her in her room. She's been quiet since then, so I don't think she's left."

"Thank you," Sora bowed politely again, and Seiko returned it. Taking off her shoes, she padded down the porch and arrived at the slide door in question and pulled it open, revealing the girl, still lying with her head on her table. She scrunched her eyes up at the sudden burst of light and sat up with the start of an annoyed grumble, only to stop upon seeing Sora.

Rika's mouth moved, her name a whisper on her lips, but she stopped herself from saying it out loud. Looking ashamed, she turned away, hands clutching at the edges of the table.

_Well… She's not telling me to get out. That's a good sign._

"Hey," Sora began, stepping inside and closing the door behind her. "Mind if I come in?"

Rika's fingers curled into her palms, but she made no comment. Taking this as something approaching consent, Sora set herself down close by, but not too close.

"I'm glad to see that you're doing okay," she said to Rika after a moment of silence between them. "Biyomon's doing good as well. She should be out of the hospital soon."

Rika pressed her lips together, still not answering. Sora leaned forward, looking at her in concern.

"I hear that you haven't been talking much lately. That Renamon hasn't been around either."

Rika's fists tightened and an angry expression crossed her features. "She doesn't need me," she said bitterly. "She never did."

"Maybe," Sora admitted. "It wouldn't be the first time we had a Digidestined or a Tamer who worked on the side of darkness. Or even their partners."

"What…?" Rika blinked. "Oh. You mean Ken, right?"

"Gatomon too," Sora said, causing Rika to blink again in surprise at that. "It's not a well-known story. Not really. Gatomon doesn't like to talk about it. The first time we met her was in the digital world, when we were trying to get back home to find Kari. We didn't know she was the Eighth Child. Neither did her boss, Myotismon…" She paused, realizing she was drifting off topic. "Anyway, our first meeting with Gatomon had her slugging it out with all of us. She packs quite the punch for someone so small, and she fought us to a standstill before retreating into the portal to the real world, shutting it in our faces.

"It was a while later that we met her again, and by then she had already met Kari and found out who she was."

Sora met Rika's violet eyes with her brown ones. "She had been alone with her for most of the day, and had standing orders to kill her."

Rika glanced away, looking sick. "She didn't though."

"No, she didn't, but Gatomon, by her own admission, was close to doing just that. If she had acted a second sooner, things would be…very different."

"Why are you telling me this?" Rika asked irritably. "You're hoping that I'm going to go find Renamon and see if we can be partners again, huh? Or even…friends."

She nearly spat out the last word, hating its taste in her mouth. _Why bother with making friends? They always seemed to leave in the end._

"I'll admit that it's on my mind," Sora replied truthfully. "You know Renamon better than I do of course, but… I don't know. You received a digivice for a reason after all. I don't think the digital world would give you one if the two of you weren't meant to be together. It wouldn't be the first time that a digimon or a human pulled the other out of the shadows."

"Renamon's _real_ friends were there when I got my digivice," Rika snorted. "I'm pretty sure it came from them."

"Maybe, but that doesn't mean they own it. It's _your_ digivice, not theirs. Only you can decide what to do with it."

Rika narrowed her eyes angrily. "You're trying to tell me what I should decide."

Sora's expression softened. "I just…don't like seeing two people who care about each other decide that they can't be together. I want you to be open to the possibility that maybe you and Renamon can work something out. I remember how she nearly died saving you from Dokugumon."

"She _lied_ to me, Sora," Rika growled, her fists shaking now. "She used me and she left. She never wanted to have me for her partner. I was just…just a _battery_ to her! If she cared at all…she…she wouldn't have left me."

There was a flash of pain across her face and Rika clenched her eyes shut, fighting to keep the tears that wanted out caged within. Approaching the girl, Sora placed her hands on her shoulders and gave them a soft squeeze. The display of affection caused Rika to utter a sharp gasp and the floodgates nearly broke open. She caught hold of them at the last minute though and held firm before closing them tightly.

"Maybe Renamon left…because she felt she was hurting you," Sora suggested quietly. Rika stiffened at that. The thought hadn't occurred to her. She had been so… _angry_ that night. She had even punched Takato without even thinking even though the boy hadn't meant her any harm.

_Do people leave you when they think they're hurting you?_

"Why…Why are you defending her?" Rika rasped.

Sora remained silent for a moment before replying.

"Maybe I'm being silly. But…I believe that even the guilty sometimes deserve a second chance."

_Second chances…_ Rika thought quietly. Her mind recoiled at the notion while her heart hesitated in its beating for a brief moment before continuing. She wanted to believe Sora was right, but…after so long a time of people leaving her, she just didn't believe there were any more second chances left for her to give. She…

"I'm home!" came the all of Rumiko as she entered through the main gate, causing both the girl and the woman to sigh as one. Giving Rika a quick squeeze, Sora got to her feet.

"I'll keep her occupied," she said, heading out of the room and leaving Rika alone.

Alone that is, save for the still form of Calumon, who now occupied a space atop Rika's dresser, looking down at her with worry.

**###**

Impmon hummed quietly to himself as he trailed along the railing. His ears twitched and he drew to a halt. He scowled, listening intently.

_Is there someone behind me?_

Deciding to test his theory, he started up again. Yes. Sure enough, he heard the soft sound of steps starting up again somewhere up on the billboard above him. He instantly knew who it was and he spun around angrily.

"Quit following me!" he shouted, shaking a gloved fist at Renamon.

"I have a question," she said, looking down at him, somewhat bemused by his temperamental behavior. He never seemed to change no matter how many times he got kicked down by those more powerful than he.

"And you think I care?" Impmon shot back, only to change his track almost immediately. "Actually I do care. Surprised? I care because _I'm sure it's something stupid!"_

_What a strange, little digimon,_ Renamon thought before jumping down to the railing beside the diminutive Rookie with an easy grace. Smirking, Impmon turned away and planted his hands on his hips, looking quite pleased with himself that she would even deign to seek him about anything.

"I've learned not to expect much from the human-loving digi-duds, but maybe there's hope for you darling coming to yours truly for the answers. Guess I shouldn't be surprised since you were with the Nightmare Soldiers first, so you already knew about their ugly side." Raising one hand to his chin, he massaged it lightly, glancing at the vulpine digimon smugly. "So tell me, Foxy. What can I do ya for?"

Renamon got right to the point. "Why don't you have a partner?"

At that, Impmon squawked in surprise and nearly lost his balance. Of all the questions it was _that?_

Renamon dismissed his antics and simply continued on as he rebalanced himself. "Why should a digimon have a partner? You know as well as I do that we were told that in order to grow stronger we needed the help of humans. Why?"

Settling back down, Impmon sighed in exasperation and threw his hands up emptily.

"You got me," he said before pointing a finger at her accusingly. "No self-respecting digimon needs a partner. Especially a human."

"Are you sure?" Renamon pressed. She couldn't understand this line of thinking. She digivolved because of Rika – or at least she thought she did – while Impmon never seemed to grow in power at all.

"Of course I am!" Impmon exclaimed, remembering the scene from the house with the two children. He shuddered involuntarily at the memory before continuing. I'd stay far away from them if I were you. They're trouble with a capital T! I'm sorry, Fox Face. Did I go too fast for you? Ah, forget about it!"

With an annoyed grunt, he hopped to the other end of the railing, preparing to catapult himself into the air once more before Renamon's next question caught his attention.

"How can we digivolve or increase our strength unless we have a partner?"

"Ah, come _on!"_ Impmon whirled about. "You're not really buying that one? Apocalymon may have sold you that garbage, but it's stupid! The power's inside of you! Forget all the rest!"

_The power's inside of me?_ Renamon wondered, a bit surprised by this. Everything and everyone she knew looked to humans for power. Never from within. It sounded like…odd to her ears.

Still, if Impmon knew something she didn't…

"How do I find it?"

At this, Impmon suddenly looked uncertain and hesitated in his answer before falling back on what appeared to her eyes to be his default attitude. Bravado and dismissal of the intelligence of others.

"I guess you're not very bright," he replied, stamping his foot on the railing. "Don't expect me to tell you what to do. You've got to figure it out for yourself."

_At least, that's what all those stories that I read keep saying,_ Impmon thought, remembering his stash of reading material that he stole a while back. It made sense after all. If the power was inside everyone all along, then why bother needing anyone else?

"I…see," Renamon replied with a narrowing of her eyes. "I…think I get what you're trying to say."

She knew that she didn't sound at all convincing, but at this point she wasn't sure if there was anything more to be gained by this conversation. She supposed she could simply destroy the tiny Rookie and load his data, but there didn't seem to be any point to that either as he was far too weak for her.

As she suspected, her ruse didn't work at all, and only served to make Impmon even _more_ angry with her.

"You _get_ what I'm trying to say?" he growled, stabbing that finger of his at her again before shaking both of his hands up and down like a child throwing a tantrum. "You're just a know-it-all like the rest of them! _I get it. I get it._ Well you're not Einstein, and frankly you make me sick to my stomach!"

_And that's my cue…_

"I'll leave you alone then," Renamon replied, turning away and jumping over to the next roof. This caused Impmon's mouth to drop open in surprise, having not expected her to just decide to up and leave rather than listen to him rant some more.

"You'll wha…?" he began before darting after her. "Hey! I got a lot more to say! Don't you want to hear!"

Renamon disappearance over the roof clearly gave her answer, and Impmon dropped his fist in frustration.

"Ah, ba-boom…" he muttered.

Once, Renamon would have smiled to herself at his deflating ego, but with so much on her mind, she couldn't spare a thought for it. Landing atop a construction crane, Renamon rose and stared out over the city. The sun was setting, casting all of Shinjuku and its sky in a golden glow. She thought of Rika, and how she always became a bit more solemn during sunsets and would sometimes take a moment to watch them before going about her business. It was a strange peculiarity of hers that she never asked her about.

_Talk… We hardly ever talked about anything except battle and our training. That was the only thing we shared in common. Perhaps we never needed each other. Do I need Rika to fulfill my destiny?_

Her destiny. From the time she was a Viximon, she had been told that her only destiny was to the forces of Darkness. To become their greatest soldier and destroy the armies of Light.

Only…she was no longer a part of the Nightmare Soldiers. They cast her out when she stood against IceDevimon. What was more…she digivolved on her own even though Rika refused to help her.

_I hate to admit it…but Impmon may be right. Maybe I don't need Rika. And maybe…maybe she doesn't need me._

That thought left her feeling depressed, and she clenched her paws together. The sun dipped further toward the horizon, and the golden glow bathing the city vanished as the shadows grew.

_I must rely on the power within me,_ she thought. _I am alone in this world. Rika does not need me. She does not care for me. Just as before, there is no one else who will stand by me…except…me._

A column of light erupted from the park, and a fog quickly spread throughout the trees. A bio-emergence!

_Another battle,_ Renamon thought, though she found, curiously, that she could no longer summon the eagerness she once held for combat. Only…sorrow, and utter emptiness.

Frustrated, she leapt into the air and started toward the direction of the site of the bio-emergence. Perhaps there, she would find answers.

**###**

Rika sat up at the sound of her digivice's alarm and found her trash basket glowing. Knowing what it meant, Rika turned away and groaned, clamping her hands around her ears.

_No…_ she thought. _I…I can't. Don't…listen. She doesn't need me._

**###**

The fog was thick amidst the trees, obscuring nearly all of her surroundings. Renamon frowned as she hid within the brush, listening. The screeches of some digimon – a bird-like one she assumed judging from the sounds – could be heard on the wind, loud and shrill. She wracked her memory for the particular digimon, but at the moment nothing came to mind.

_It stays out of sight well,_ she mused. _It won't give itself away easily. It needs…prey._

Stepping out into the open now, Renamon presented herself as one such target. Many digimon preferred melee combat, but even in the event that this one didn't, a single shot would tell her a great deal about where to look. She only need to wait.

She didn't have to wait for very long. A gust of wind and a shriek of victory caught her attention and Renamon just barely dodged out of the way as the massive form of Harpymon came flying on in, her claws crashing into the earth where the vulpine digimon had just been. Renamon somersaulted through the air as the avian rose up after her, barely losing a second.

_Powerful…and skilled,_ Renamon thought. _This will be a challenge. If Rika were…_

No. She couldn't think of her. Not now. She had only herself after all. There was no one else to aid her.

**###**

The night sky twinkled with the light of stars as Jeri waved goodbye to Takato and Guilmon.

"See ya," the brunette called, starting down the stairs. "I'll come visit again."

Takato's eyebrows rose at that. She wanted to see Guilmon again? "Oh. Uh… Okay. Anytime."

Lowering his arm, the goggle-wearing boy gazed at her retreating back in contemplation. He and Jeri had…become friends, as hard as it was to believe. Never in a million years did he believe such a thing would happen. He was supposed to be the weird, awkward one who constantly stumbled over his own feet and she was supposed to avoid him at all costs, or at the very least laugh at him and his odd quirks.

_This just…doesn't happen to me I think,_ he thought. _I don't think it's supposed to happen to anybody like me. What's going on here?_

"Guilmon?" he asked quietly as the girl disappeared down the curve of the stairs. "Do you think she likes me?"

Guilmon sneezed suddenly and the flower sticker came flying off his nose. Rubbing at his face, he looked around, trying to find it before quickly giving up.

"Well… She likes you more than Rika, that's for sure," the crimson dinosaur replied. "I don't think she'd punch you anyway."

_Rika…_

The angry face of the red-haired Digimon Queen came to mind and his mood sobered.

"I guess…" he began distractedly, scratching the back of his head. "Well…never mind. I think I should get going now. I'll see about…"

Before he could continue, Guilmon's pupils suddenly dilated and he crouched down, growling viciously.

"Ah! Something the matter, Guilmon?"

The sound of a screeching… _thing_ …emanating from deep within the park more than told him what he needed to know.

A digimon.

_Why didn't you go off?_ he wondered, frowning down at his digivice. Takato quickly rushed after him.

_Boy, it's never a dull day around here…_

"That's either a digimon or a train wreck!" came Terriermon's worried cry from down in the park path as they both reached the bottom. A smile bloomed across Takato's face as he saw a familiar Tamer emerge at a run from the shadows.

"Henry!"

"Good, I'm glad to see you're here," Henry said. "It's pretty close by and it's a strong signal!"

"Oh great. Guess that means we're going to be on the news tonight," Takato groaned, rolling his eyes. "Why can we never get anything like Calumon anymore?"

"Because you're the universe's chew toy?" Terriermon suggested, earning him an annoyed look from the two boys. "What? It's possible!"

Frowning, Henry turned away and poured on the speed. "Let's go!"

**###**

Rika's digivice continued to buzz and beep from within the confines of the trash basket, and Rika continued to try to shut it out.

_I shouldn't have fished it out last time…_ she thought, tightening her hands against her ears. The beeping didn't stop, and it told her that the battle continued on. Renamon could be there, or one of the other Tamers or their doofus Digidestined friends.

_I don't care! I don't…care… They…could be…hurt…_

She clenched her eyes shut all the more tightly. Why _should_ she care? None of them cared about her? No one did. They all left sooner or later anyway. Why…?

"Oh, I'd better see what it wants?"

Looking up in surprise, she saw Calumon circle around her and run straight over to the basket. Dunking himself inside, he rummaged around and then he grunted in surprise as the basket tipped over. Rika gasped, moving over to him with surprising concern beating in her heart for the little digimon.

Rolling on out, Calumon lifted the digivice and looked at the screen. He turned it over and furrowed his brow questioningly.

"Ohhh… Well, it's not saying much but the light sure is pretty."

"Give it here!"

Her curiosity no longer deniable, she snatched her digivice out of Calumon's tiny paws and took a quick look at the screen. She was greeted by a confusing jumble of images as Renamon leapt around repeatedly, clearly dealing with a considerably powerful opponent. Closing her eyes, she lowered the digivice, knowing that if she kept watching, her resolve would only crumble.

_Renamon's in danger…_

Her grip tightened around the digivice for a brief moment before she let go of it and spun back around to her table, trying to shut out the noise of its incessant beeping. Seeing her reaction, Calumon picked it back up and looked at the screen.

"Whatever it said didn't go over very well," he bemoaned before glancing back up at Rika. The girl felt her whole body shivering as she wrestled with the decision before her.

_Can I really let her fight this by herself? Or…should I…just let her die?_

She gasped as that last thought fully bloomed in her mind and at once she surged to her feet, snatching up the digivice out of Calumon's tiny paws. Ignoring his excited cry, Rika raced out of her room and blew past her mother and Sora as they were giving each other their goodbyes at the gate.

"Rika!" Rumiko shouted, but it was too late. She was gone like a shot. Sora and Rumiko stared after her, bewildered before Rumiko moaned and lowered her hands to her hips.

"Honestly…I don't know what I'm going to do with her."

Sora didn't answer right away, wondering just what it was that set such a sharp gust of wind into Rika's sails to make her run so. She quickly replayed the memory…and noticed the glowing blue light, beeping loudly, strapped to her belt.

Rika was wearing her digivice again.

"I'm sure she'll be all right," Sora soothed, stepping outside the gate. "I hate to cut this short, Rumi, but I've got to get going. We'll discuss business tomorrow, how's that?"

"All right," Rumiko replied, looking down in the direction Rika ran worriedly. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Sora waved goodbye and headed off at a quick, but measured pace. Upon ascertaining that Rumiko was no longer watching her, she took a quick look around and took notice of the digital field off in the direction of the park.

_Rika's heading there,_ she thought. With that, she took off at a run.

**###**

Guilmon broke through the barrier, quickly followed by Terriermon, Takato and Henry. The brown-haired boy pulled up his goggles as soon as he heard the loud screech of their quarry and his eyes widened upon seeing a familiar vulpine form, dodging back and forth from the attacks of a humanoid bird.

"Renamon's in a fight!" he exclaimed, raising his digivice to identify their opponent. The holographic circle rose above its screen, providing detailed information to him. "Whoa! It's Harpymon! That's one nasty digimon with a screech like nails down a chalkboard!" The holo-circle receded and he looked back up. "Renamon's going to have a tough time dealing with her Wind Seeker attack."

"Rika!" called Henry, looking around as Takato did likewise.

"I don't see her anywhere!"

"Forget about her," Terriermon said. "If she's not here, than she's not here. Now how about we get in there and mix it up before Renamon gets killed!"

Suiting action to words, Terriermon rushed toward the battlefield, neck in neck with Guilmon. Catching sight of their approach, Harpymon crossed her wings together and slashed them to the side, sending a razor-sharp blade of energy surging toward them. Crying out in surprise, Terriermon and Guilmon dodged out of the way, the blade carving a trench in the ground where they once stood.

"Well that was close…" Terriermon gasped.

"And if you know what's good for you, you'll come no closer!" Harpymon shouted, startling the group. It was rare that digimon ever spoke to them, let alone warn them off from a battle. Not bothering to explain herself, Harpymon began to circle back around to Renamon just as she crossed her arms together.

_"Diamond Storm!"_ she shouted, slashing her own arms outward and breaking the glowing sphere that formed before her. Dozens of glowing, crystalline shards flew out toward Harpymon, only for the Armor digimon to easily dodge them and fly toward her without breaking a sweat. Renamon however did not feel the least bit concerned by this. Now that her target entered melee range, she cut loose, slamming a fist into the side of her armored face, sending her careening off to the side.

"We've got to do something," Henry began, eyeing the fight. Like Renamon, Harpymon was a data type, so there would be no type advantage here, and as an Armor, she could withstand more punishment than Renamon. Renamon was good in close quarters, but Harpymon proved to have the advantage in the air. Renamon could jump well, but she was largely grounded.

_We need to take away Harpymon's advantage._

"Takato! Quick! Use your Hyper Wing car-!"

Henry hesitated as he caught sight of movement from within the fog, and the familiar shape of Rika Nonaka, surprisingly with Calumon bounding behind her, emerged.

"Rika!" he exclaimed in surprise while a smile bloomed into existence on Takato's face at her mention.

"Just in time!"

Rika frowned in annoyance at the two boys, a part of her confused as to why Takato of all people looked happy to see her. He never seemed to take a disliking to her no matter how much she belittled or…hurt him.

_It's probably because he's such a stupid Gogglehead,_ she thought distractedly before turning her mind away from them and over to Renamon, who had just now taken notice of her. Rika's breath caught in her throat as their eyes met, and for the briefest of moments, the whole world around them vanished. She could still feel their link between them…calling to her.

"Hey, hey!" Terriermon crowed. "Look who _finally_ made an entrance!"

_What…is this?_ Harpymon wondered at the scene as she flapped her wings. _Another human… Wait. This is the one from Ophanimon's files? The one partnered to the Renamon?_

She narrowed her eyes beneath her mask, but she didn't have time to think on the matter for very long, for Renamon suddenly leapt up and delivered a powerful, punishing punch to Harpymon's face before spinning around and doing the same with a spinning kick. With a cry of pain, the Armored avian crashed to the ground and laid there…stunned. Renamon landed in front of her, glaring at her fallen opponent, breathing heavily. She felt…different somehow. As though she had just proven something now that Rika was here.

_It has to be because of that,_ she thought. _Impmon was right. I willed myself strength and it came!_

She glanced over at Rika, seeing the fear in her face and then dropped her gaze back down to her fallen adversary. This was _her_ victory, not hers and Rika's.

Her thoughts stopped right there and she took a moment to focus on that.

Just hers. Not hers and Rika's. Just hers.

Tentatively, she reached out through the void and touched Rika's mind, and through their link, she felt the panicked thought that coursed through it.

_Renamon was powerful without my help. I knew she didn't want me…_

The vulpine digimon closed her eyes and sighed inwardly, realizing why her battle with the Flybeemon had felt so empty and unsatisfying. Why she felt so hurt and lost since leaving Rika.

"She's frozen like a statue!" Takato said in confusion, a sentiment shared by Henry as well.

"Isn't she going to finish off Harpymon and load her data?"

Hearing this, Renamon opened her eyes and once more her azure gaze met that of Rika's violet ones. She could see the anxiety in them; feel the terror that beat in her chest, afraid of what she was going to do. Would she leave her again? Or…

_No._

"I could load the data of every opponent I fight and take them apart one by one," she said darkly, her claws tightening against her palms. She loosened them and closed her eyes again as she continued in a softer voice. "But what's the point after it's all over?"

_Without someone to share victory with…my battles are meaningless. Without Rika… I am empty and devoid of purpose. Rika… I should have seen it sooner._ You _are my purpose. I'm sorry for not seeing it sooner._

Unseen by her, Harpymon struggled to raise her head, confused at still being alive and with the Renamon standing before her, but not moving.

She didn't understand what was going on, but she knew an opportunity when she saw one.

She slashed her wings and a sharp blast of energy slammed into Renamon, sending her flying backward as she cried out in pain – a cry that was matched by all the others who watched it happen.

Renamon hit the ground hard, and the Harpymon was on her just as she struggled to recover. She rolled to the side, narrowly missing getting the Armored digimon's claws stabbed into her, but no sooner did she do so was Harpymon's other set of claws rushing for her as well, and she rolled to the side again to the opposite end, barely evading injury. The action repeated itself, Renamon having no time to use her momentum to escape out of reach, and what was worse, sooner or later…Harpymon was going to catch her, and then it would be over.

And then Harpymon screamed.

Rika didn't know how she got there. The last thing she could immediately remember was a blanket of red covering her vision and the horror upon realizing that she had forgotten to bring her cards along for battle.

There was the stick next to her though; sharp on one end. She fancied seeing a swirl of blue around her body in the form of digital numbers, but it vanished as quickly as it came. Snatching up the stick, she bolted past Takato and Henry and in the next moment, she howled a fearsome battle cry and stabbed the stick into Harpymon's back, just underneath the plate of her armor where her spine met.

The Harpymon screamed, loud and long, surprisingly hurt by the attack. Enraged, she spun around on the girl and shrieked in anger. Human or digimon, _no one_ attacked her from behind!

_Oh, you are going to_ pay! she thought, crossing her wings together.

_No!_ Renamon exclaimed mentally, struggling to rise to her feet. Rika was going to die! _No… This is all my fault! If I had acted…_

Understanding flooded Renamon's mind. Why Takato and Henry fought so vehemently for their partners. Why they defended them and why they valued them so much despite being made of data.

They were the same reasons why she now fought for Rika. Why…they now fought for her.

"Rika!" shouted Takato as both he and Takato began to run forward, hoping beyond hope to save her before it was too late.

Behind them, the small, red triangle on Calumon's forehead glowed, and suddenly white light burst free from Renamon's body, signaling her digivolution. White hot lightning scorched through her bond with the girl and strength beyond anything she knew before flooded the very essence of her being.

_"Renamon! Digivolve tooo…Kyubimon!"_

The shell of data that surrounded the vixen exploded, and Kyubimon dropped down on all fours and slammed into Harpymon from behind. Crying out in surprise, the bird digimon tumbled through the air for a moment before righting herself and crossing her wings together.

_"Wind Seeker!"_ she shouted, preparing to launch her attack. However, as fast as she was, Kyubimon was faster. Blue fire lit up on the ends of all nine of her tails and she launched them all at once at her opponent, putting as much of her power into them as she could. The fireballs slammed into Harpymon repeatedly with burning, punishing blows that not even her armor could protect her from. Overwhelmed by the brutality of the attacks, Harpymon screamed one last time before dissolving into a cloud of sparkling data. Kyubimon walked underneath them, but much to Rika's surprise, she let the shards go.

"You're not loading her data?" she asked, to which Kyubimon shook her head.

"No."

"But why not?"

"Because I don't need it anymore," Kyubimon replied, turning toward her as the light of Harpymon's death died down, dousing the park back into darkness. Rika looked at her, confused.

"I don't understand."

"I don't need an opponent's data," Kyubimon clarified, approaching her, "because I have you."

Rika blinked and jerked reflexively, having not expected that.

"Because of me?"

Kyubimon drew to a stop in front of her. "Rika. You just saved my life. Why did you do it?"

"S-Someone had to," she stammered out, unable to look her partner in the face. "You saved my life once."

"You were just repaying a debt?" Kyubimon prompted.

"No. That's not what I meant," she replied, realizing that there was no longer any getting around this. She had to tell the truth, if not for Kyubimon, then…for herself. "You're my partner."

With that, Rika felt as though a weight just slid off her shoulders, and quite unexpectedly she felt a smile draw across her face in response to those words, as though she herself had been waiting to hear them.

"And that's what partners do," Kyubimon continued from her words. "We protect each other, is that what you're saying?"

Rika felt there was more to it now. Something in her heart told her as much, but for the time being she didn't have the words to describe that strange, but comforting warmth she felt glowing inside of her.

"Something like that," she laughed lightly in response. "We'll watch each other's back."

Takato scratched the back of his head as he watched the two talk to each other, feeling as though he had just missed something. Couldn't they just admit that they cared about each other? Was it really that hard for them?

"Uh…I don't get it."

Smiling at his friend's confusion, Henry turned toward him. "It's obvious they were worried about each other. Problem is, they're too hard-headed to admit it. They'll go on playing silly games until they drop."

Takato couldn't help but laugh at that. "Being honest with each other would be too hard."

Rika heard the combined laugh of the four behind her, but she let them have it for now. As much as she hated to admit it, she _had_ been stupid. She had lied to herself as well. Renamon had been honest with her, at first wanting nothing but a human who would make her stronger, and the digimon who were with her had promised her that she could go to the digital world once she had done that. There had been no deception there, but no one expected for the two of them to come to care about each other. Reaching out, she brushed her hands against Kyubimon's muzzle, and the kitsune leaned into her touch. It took every scrap of willpower to not bury her face into her partner's fur and hold her, not wanting to ever let her go.

This was what she wanted for so long. Someone she could trust unconditionally. A friend.

**###**

Sora watched the scene with a small smile on her face, and after a moment withdrew and started to walk away from the group. She was tempted to join them and congratulate Rika for getting back together with her partner, but another part of her, the part who knew Rika so very well, told her to let her be for now. To let her have this moment without further interruption.

With nothing more to see, Sora started down the park path and left the trinity to their future.


	68. Interlude 9: Reaching Out

Ophanimon awoke to a cage of light burning around her and she sat up, her expression marred at first by confusion until memories began to reemerge.

_Cherubimon…_ she thought, climbing to her feet. _That's right. I came here at his request and then we fought._

She frowned beneath her helm, wondering what in the name of all that was holy had happened to make him do that.

_He didn't appear to be infected when we fought, though that doesn't mean much. If infected, it might not have progressed enough for it to be visible. But…how? By what means? His Holy Ring should have protected him!_

Questions for later. She needed to see to the task at hand. Escape and warn Seraphimon. Approaching the cage, she reached out and touched the cage of light, starting with the direct approach. There was no shock or anything that threatened to harm her as she brought her hand to rest upon its surface, but she found that it did not budge a single inch.

_An adamant light program,_ she thought. _This…will take time, even for a Mega such as I. Maybe if I…_

"Ah…" came the Celestial-in-question's voice from the darkness surrounding the cage of light. "Ophanimon. So glad that you are awake and well."

"Cherubimon!" Ophanimon exclaimed at his presence, turning to face him. He remained in the darkness though, leaving only his glowing eyes for her to see. "Explain yourself! What is the meaning of your attack?"

"It's not obvious?" Cherubimon asked. "I am working to bring order to the digital world. The human and beast-type digimon cannot exist together as things are now. Another hand must guide its future. _My_ hand."

"Cherubimon, no single hand can guide the course of the digital world. That is why we formed a council and we vote together on actions…"

"You and Seraphimon have always voted _together!"_ Cherubimon shouted, causing the fortress to shudder in response to the force of the volume. "For too long the concerns of the beast digimon have been ignored! I guard half of the spirits belonging to the Legendary Warriors and the Continent of Darkness contains the majority of the population of the beast digimon! Yet everything that we vote upon has been for your lands, bathed in light and civilization."

Cherubimon's glowing eyes narrowed as he continued.

"We beast digimon have to fight for every scrap of life that can be meted out. Well…that changes now."

Approaching the cage of light, Cherubimon revealed himself, smiling as Ophanimon gasped in shock at her worst fears beng confirmed.

"Do I frighten you, Ophanimon?" he asked. "This is what you and Seraphimon made me."

"Cherubimon. It doesn't need to be this way. Seraphimon…"

"…no longer has a role in this world," he said. "I have imprisoned him, just as I have imprisoned you." His expression darkened. "You care for him… He is helpless right now, and weak. I could destroy him at any time. Make no attempt to escape your prison, and his safety will be assured. On this I promise you."

_Seraphimon… No…_ Ophanimon swallowed. The hard-fought peace of the Legendary Warriors and the Celestials could not be lost so readily. "Please… Cherubimon… Let us discuss this..."

Cherubimon growled as an orb appeared in front of him, displaying an image of a human with bushy, brown hair and a pink ball slung underneath one arm while the other held a device of legend.

"Another time perhaps, Lady Ophanimon," Cherubimon said before vanishing from view.

**###**

The weekend. A time of reflection and relaxing, and a day that Takato planned to take full advantage of. Throwing on his hoodie, he ran a hand through the wild mess that was his hair, trying to tame it, but quickly gave up.

_Taming digimon is a lot easier than trying to keep this stuff straight,_ he thought, shaking his head. _Well, at least it looks good enough for Mom to let me out of the house._

Gathering up his things – card box, digivice and a sketchbook with assorted supplies in the event he wanted to draw – he packed them all into his bag and then he paused, his mind drifting over to Kazu and Kenta. They still haven't talked to him since they blew him off at the park.

"I thought we were friends," he said in a hushed voice, going back to his bag and closing it up.

_Maybe if I just…talked to them again…we can work things out. I mean, Jeri doesn't have a problem with Guilmon…_

His mind paused on the puppet-loving girl, a light blush crossing his features and his mood lightened a little. It was nice to know that not everyone took issue with his partner for being a Hazard digimon.

_It could be worse,_ he thought. _They could have been like Rika when we first met…_

_"Takato! Phone call!"_

The boy looked up at the call of his mother, a bit surprised at getting a call this early in the day. Curious and eager to keep his mother from increasing the volume of her voice, he quickly darted toward his door.

"Coming!" he called back upon sliding open his door. He rushed down the stairs and within mere moments he appeared before his mother, who cradled the phone in one hand while eyeing her wayward son with a mixture of amusement and concern.

"There's a girl on the phone for you," she said, handing it to him. Takato's eyebrows rose up in surprise at that.

_Jeri?_ he wondered. He didn't remember giving her his number, but he supposed she could have looked it up in the class registry. Taking the phone, he leaned it against his ear.

"Uh…hello?" he asked.

_"Hey."_ Takato's eyes went wide in shock. Of all the people to call, she was the _last_ person he expected.

_"Rika?!"_

_"That's me."_

Takato fidgeted and squirmed, feeling his mother's gaze on him all the more intensely. Seeing her son's sudden discomfort, she ducked out, reminding herself that she had work to do.

"Um… What…? How…?" Taking a deep breath to settle himself now that he was alone, he continued. "How did you get my number?"

_"Ken gave it to me a while ago,"_ she responded tersely before becoming quiet. An uncomfortable silence fell between them, during which Takato shifted again.

"Um…" he began, only for Rika to interrupt him.

_"Look, I don't have time to talk right now, so I'm going to make this quick. Are you doing anything right now?"_

_Am I doing anything right now?_ his mind squeaked, half panicking as to why she was asking that. The way she asked that…and the uncomfortable air between them… It almost sounded as though she were…asking him out.

_No way. That's dumb. I mean, yeah she teased me about being in love with her that one time but…_

Takato shook his head to clear it of such ridiculous thoughts. No doubt there was something more going on here than what his silly imagination was suggesting.

"Well…I was planning on hanging out with Guilmon at the park…"

_"Perfect,"_ Rika interrupted. _"I'll see you there."_

The girl hung up with a sharp _click,_ leaving Takato staring at it while a dial tone echoed at him.

"What…just happened?" he asked no one in particular. He heard a low chuckle from off to his side and turned to find his mother standing in the doorway leading to the kitchen, arms folded in front of her and looking at him with amusement.

"So…" she began. "You have plans for today?"

"Uh…" Takato began, his face heating up. Clearly he hadn't been the only one to think that he had been roped into a date. His mother's smile only widened ever so slightly at his flustered response.

"You're a little young to be doing that sort of thing," she said. "But I'll allow it this time since she was very polite and sounds like a nice girl. Pretty name too. Just don't stay out late, all right?"

Takato could only nod numbly, not trusting his voice to respond properly. The sooner this was over and done with, the better. Mie tilted her head at her son, her amused smile disappearing.

"Honestly, Takato," she said, making shooing gestures with her hands. "Get going! You don't want to keep her waiting!"

With a yelp, Takato bolted back up the stairs to grab his things.

_Just what have I gotten myself into?!_ he wondered, half in panic.

**###**

Takato didn't have long to find out. Racing up the stairs, two bags of bread in hand, he found the fire-haired girl waiting for him outside of Guilmon's home, the crimson dinosaur eyeing her with curiosity while Renamon conspicuously remained nowhere to be seen.

_She's out there I bet,_ he thought, drawing up warily to the girl. "Ah… Hi?" he greeted as she nodded to him.

"It's about time you got here," she said, pushing away from Guilmon's gate and stepping toward him, arms folded over her chest. "What took you so long?" She glanced down at the bags Takato was carrying and frowned. "What'd you bring? Your room?"

"Ah… I brought my cards and some stuff for drawing," Takato said, setting the bags down so he could take off his back-pack.

"I hope you thought to bring your digivice," Rika said, her eyes hardening. Takato felt his back squirm, but he nodded.

"I don't go anywhere without it. I can't help Guilmon if I don't have it with me. I mean, who knows what kind of trouble we'll end up in."

"Well at least you think _that_ far ahead," the girl grunted. "And the other stuff?"

Takato grinned and unlatched the gate. "Food for…"

_"Yay!"_

The boy had scarcely gotten the words out of his mouth when Guilmon leapt at him and bowled him over, giving his face a complete and thorough bathing with his tongue. Takato laughed as he struggled, trying to dodge the dinosaur's tongue, but it did him no good.

Rika, for her part, simply stared at the pair at first in utter bafflement before sighing and shaking her head.

"If you two bozos are finished, can we move on?"

"Sorry, sorry," Takato apologized as Guilmon pulled away and immediately began to stuff his face into the closest bread bag, producing bread by the clawful.

"Bread, bread, bread… Oooh! Peanut butter filling?" Guilmon gasped, causing Rika to roll her eyes.

_I'm supposed to teach these two how to be Tamers?_ she asked the memory of Ken. _I can't believe I agreed to this._

She opened her mouth to criticize them for their apparent flippant behavior with regards to their duties to each other as a Tamer and a digimon partner, but she came up short as a hand held out a loaf of bread for her. Raising an elegant eyebrow she looked at the goggle-wearing boy, who smiled back, albeit with a touch of uncertainty as to whether this was a gesture she would be okay with.

"What's this?" she asked suspiciously.

"It's food!" Takato chirped, laughing nervously in response. "You know, you eat it. Do you want any?"

"I _know_ what it is, Gogglehead!" Rika growled, shifting her stance. "Why?"

"Oh. I just…thought maybe you might be hungry since it's morning and…stuff."

_I already had some miso soup for breakfast,_ Rika thought in her mind, however, she had to admit that the bread _did_ look good, even though it wasn't normally her sort of thing.

She was about to say no when a quick look at Takato's smiling face drew her up short. There, tucked just below his eye on his cheekbone was a fading, yellow bruise.

Her hands tightened beneath her arms, knowing where it came from.

_I did that,_ she thought. _I did that and he's still trying to be friends with me._

She felt a flash of anger – anger at him and at herself – but she pushed it down, not understanding why she suddenly felt that way when there was no reason to.

Her expression softening ever so slightly, she reached up and accepted the offer of bread and tentatively took a bite. It was cool and a bit hard, but otherwise it had an interesting flavor to it that made her take a second, much larger bite.

Through it all, Takato's smiling face remained, looking a bit more relaxed, seeing that she was eating and enjoying her food.

_It's…good,_ she thought, a bit surprised, though she didn't show it. "Not bad," she said after swallowing. She blushed lightly, feeling a bit flustered now, but she paid it no mind. So long as Takato didn't bring it up, he would be fine.

"Thanks," Takato beamed, rubbing the back of his head. "Well, actually that praise goes more to my parents since they made it. We run a bakery."

"Do you make anything like this?" Rika asked, taking another bite, a bit curious now. She didn't know anyone who owned a small business. Most of the people she knew belonged to her mother's circle of friends, none of whom were particularly interesting outside of Sora. They were, in her opinion, largely vapid people who talked endlessly about fashion, none of which appealed to her. _Takato_ was more interesting by comparison, but only because he liked digimon.

They had _some_ common ground after all.

"I do," Takato nodded. "Not as much as my parents though." He shrugged. "It's a business thing. Things get busy and they're more experienced than I am…" He dropped his hand from his head, realizing they were drifting off topic. "Um… So, anyway, why did you want to see me?"

Rika finished swallowing her second bite, feeling at once strangely disappointed and relieved that the conversation was going back to where it should be. Filing the feelings away to later ignore, she placed one hand on her hip.

"Training," she answered. "Let's face it, Gogglehead. You're not very good at being a Tamer. You've gotten better since we first met, but you're still way behind where you should be if you want to stand a chance. So far you've been lucky, or you've had someone else backing you up, but you can't keep that up forever."

Takato nodded in understanding, his past battles playing through his mind. His indecision in the fight with the Vilemon; how he fell apart in the battle against Devidramon; and his combo proving to be ineffectual against Musyamon in spite of its previous success against IceDevimon. He _had_ improved, but the fact remained that he didn't know when certain cards were appropriate for a battle, and he took too long to decide.

Rika eyed him carefully, awaiting his response, but all she received was a simple nod. That…both pleased her and confused her. During the tournaments she saw players throw offers of help back in the face of the person making it, not liking it as it made them appear weak. She knew it well, having been there in the past, as much as she hated admitting it herself.

_You're a weird kid, Gogglehead,_ she thought, but was grateful that at least he was open to learning and wasn't about to give her a hard time about it.

She took another bite of the bread and swallowed quickly. Reaching behind her, she opened her deck box and pulled out her cards.

"Okay," she began. "The first thing we're going to do is organize your cards, starting with your defense cards. You'll want basic utilities at the front for quick access…"

**###**

"Prodigious!" Izzy exclaimed, using his catchphrase of old. "Unless I miss my guess, it looks like Tai is within our vicinity!"

"Unless it's another Digidestined or a Tamer," Matt said, checking his own digivice. "The barriers don't seem to be doing a very good job at keeping the two worlds apart anymore."

"You raise a good point there," Izzy said. "It's quite possible that contact with the distortion between our two worlds operates much like erosion. Perhaps something similar to a dimensional fault line that eventually cracks. I wonder…"

Matt arched an eyebrow at his friend upon his lapse into silence, wondering what was going through his mind. Although he didn't fully understand everything Izzy said, and at times didn't always care enough simply due to not having the same level of interest in the kinds of things Izzy liked, his quietness – nicknamed 'computer dark mode' by Mimi during their early adventures in the digital world – could be a touch unnerving, but usually enlightening. Matt often suspected that whenever Izzy entered this state, he was on the verge of discovering something profound about the universe.

"Are you going to share?" he asked after a moment, causing Izzy to look up sharply and then grin in embarrassment.

"Sorry. I just got to thinking… We could be doing _more_ damage to the barriers between the worlds, and possibly to our worlds overall because of the Firewall we set up to keep digimon out. To go back to the fault line analogy…" Pausing, he handed Matt his laptop and then reached down to pick up a pair of rocks. Setting them against each other, he began grinding them together.

"Let's say that the left rock is the Firewall and the right rock is one of the two worlds. Pressure from the other world would normally cause the two to interact in some fashion, leading to an exchange of information…"

"Right," Matt nodded. "We saw a lot of that during our first adventure. The digital world is always picking up things."

_"Even humans,"_ chimed in Tentomon. _"Such as the Crier case."_

"Right," Izzy nodded. "But now we have this barrier between the two, and while it acts as a buffer, it's also being pushed against the other world and vice versa."

"But…nothing's being exchanged except for us," said Gabumon. "Sometimes the program glitches. How could the Firewall be causing damage to the two worlds? There haven't been any reports…have there?"

"There haven't been any reports of weather acting bizarre like it did when we were kids," Matt added in agreement.

"Okay, I haven't exactly worked it all out," admitted Izzy, "but glitches happen, and we know that some digimon can force their way through. But maybe there's something we're just not seeing yet. There's often been talk that the Firewall is 'wearing down'… That more digimon are getting through, even if they're just small…"

"…or very good at hiding," said Gabumon.

"That too," nodded Izzy. "Anyway, we knew that just the regular barrier between the worlds wore down and became thin. The question is…how? Because of the Dark Masters? Because of Milleniummon?" He shook his head. "If only Ryo were here…"

"Well, he's not," said Matt, hoping to steer the conversation away from the Legendary Tamer. The less said about him the better. "Anyway…"

Thunder crashed, and a sudden gust of wind blew over them, nearly causing Izzy's computer to fly out of Matt's hands. Tightening his grip on it, he leaned forward. Lightning shot across the sky in a jagged line, spreading roots of light throughout the dark clouds of the shadowy continent. Matt could feel a heavy presence upon the air.

"Matt! Izzy!" called out a voice a split second before thunder crashed again. Spinning around, he found Tai's familiar hair sprout up from within a bush, Koromon tucked under his arm.

"Tai!" Matt shouted back over the roar of the wind. "Where have you…?"

"What?" Tai exclaimed, holding one hand to his ear. They never got the chance to speak further, as one final crack of thunder and a blinding blast of lightning overhead sent them all crashing into darkness.


	69. Interlude 10: Returning Home

"Anybody catch the level of the Busmon that hit me?" Tai heard Koromon groan as he slowly awoke. His head was pounding and a confused mess. The last thing he could remember was the thunder of his head and…

_No. Not a headache. Thunder. Actual thunder. Something hit us._

Shaking himself to loosen the hold pain and exhaustion had over him he looked over to Koromon. "You okay buddy?"

"I've had better days when I was Ken's slave," Koromon sighed, wincing as Tai picked him up. Tai hugged his partner close to him and took a look around.

"Well, at least we're all together still," he said, noting Matt, Izzy and Gabumon laying not too far away from him. Izzy's computer, folded up, sat by his side. "It doesn't look like they thought we'd be too big of a threat."

There might be something to that, given the low-level looking security prison they were in. Simple iron bars in a standard jail cell. Nothing that their digimon couldn't break out of without a bit of rest, and certainly not anything Tai couldn't work out eventually. The lock was so primitive that he was certain he could pick it himself.

Feeling around, he quickly found his digivice. "Maybe we're in good hands here. I mean, we're in the Celestial Kingdom after all."

Moving over to Matt, he took hold of him by the shoulder and shook him lightly. The man responded almost immediately, blue eyes flickering open before he gave a sharp gasp…and a sudden punch to Tai's face, causing him to fall back with a surprised cry.

"What the hell, Matt?!" Tai exclaimed, one hand grabbing at his cheek while Matt clasped his hands to his head, orienting himself.

"Sorry…" he groaned. "I thought we were under attack and…" Cracking an eye open, he looked around. "…and we're in jail."

"Not a serious one," Tai said, rubbing his face where he'd been punched. "I don't think we have much to worry about. The bad guys always have serious hardware."

Matt grunted, not wholly agreeing with his friend. The digital world and many of the digimon within it could be…fickle at times. They both knew villainous digimon who were like children's cartoon characters or wanted to lull their enemies into a false sense of security.

"So what do we do now?" Matt asked, attempting to rouse Gabumon and Izzy. Tai went up to the bars and gave them a light tug. They resisted him, as he expected, but he didn't plan to rip his way out through brute force.

"Nothing," he replied, causing Matt to whirl about him in surprise.

"Nothing? Did I just hear you right?"

"I didn't stutter." Tai furrowed his brow slightly, drumming his knuckles against the cell lock, listening carefully. "We don't know what we're up against and our partners are tired still." He knelt down to examine the lock more closely. "We need a bit of rest before doing anything else."

Matt gave his friend a sardonic grin. "You've really grown up, Tai, you know that?"

"Very funny," Tai chuckled, removing a pin from his belt and setting it within the lock, getting to work.

**###**

_Digidestined…_

_The enemy… Destroy them…_

_No!_

Cherubimon's form flickered back and forth ceaselessly, pinks and whites to blues and purples, as the conflict raged within him. The humans that he had captured were _Digidestined!_ Aids to the digital world. Beings who showed a desire to help digimon no matter what form they took, beast, human, machine, or any combination thereof. These three in particular belonged to a group known far and wide to the digital world. Not the 'First Ones', who appeared in the digital world's ancient history and imprisoned the first Apocalymon, but the ones who defeated the Dark Masters and sealed away the Demon Lords. They were among the greatest heroes known. They…could be trusted.

Cherubimon did not understand why he felt such paranoia regarding them.

_They are not like Ophanimon and Seraphimon. They consider the good of_ all _digimon. Not just those they are close to._

Yet the voice spoke to him from deep inside of his core, urging him to destroy them; that they were out to undo all of his works. The Celestial Kingdom of Light would fall unless he acted.

Yet he couldn't just destroy them. Least of all while they were helpless and under his power. Their partners were weak. Exhausted. There was little they could do.

For the moment.

_Destroy…_

_No!_

Cherubimon's eyes snapped open as his fur returned to its traditional white and pink color. This could not continue. The Digidestined would simply have to leave.

**###**

"How's the progress?" Matt asked from next to Izzy, the man busily typing away on his laptop.

"No good," he replied with a shake of his head. "I'm not detecting any weak points in the data of the building. This isn't like the pyramid that Etemon used. The data isn't experiencing any structural decay and while it's _old_ data, it's regularly rewritten to clear up any defragmentation."

_"I'm sorry to say,"_ piped in Tentomon's voice from the computer, _"but it looks like you're going to have to get out the hard way."_

"So…same as usual," Matt sighed, glancing over at Tai, who continued to work away at the lock. "How's it going?"

"So far so good," Tai grunted. "Just a little bit more and… _there!"_

The cell lock clicked and the door swung open. Grinning, he stood up and gestured to the others. "After you."

"Hang on," Izzy said. "I need to do another scan of the surrounding area to make sure that there aren't any guards. I…" His eyes widened suddenly and he looked up in panic. "Someone's coming! Someone powerful!"

"Great," Tai cursed, grabbing hold of the door and shutting it. It remained unlocked however and he moved up to it so as to give the impression that he was simply trying to peer around the bars. They couldn't afford to be discovered breaking out now with the shape that their partners were in.

From down the hall, there came the loud creak of a door, heavy and metal, opening and then closing with a heavy slam, followed by the sound of hooves clicking against on the stone floor. Torchlight flickered as a large shadow fell across the floor. Tai felt the tension in the air rise and he tightened his grip on both door and digivice, wondering if it was too late to try and make a fight out of it. His impulse to act fought against the need to play the long game and not expend unnecessary energy while in a potentially dangerous situation.

With great effort, he held himself in check…and waited.

The digimon that arrived at the cell was an Armor-level digimon, formed as a goat with long, golden, arching horns and a collar around its neck, upon which was etched digi-code.

"What…kind of digimon are you?" Matt began, eyebrows raised.

"That's an Oryxmon," Tai answered. "Be careful not to butt heads with him, because you'll get one nasty headache."

Blinking, Matt turned toward his friend. "You've really been in the digital world for too long. You're even starting to sound like them."

"Sorry…" Tai laughed, only to be interrupted as Oryxmon cleared his throat.

"If you are quite through," he began, "I would ask that you all come with me. My master, Cherubimon, wishes to speak with you."

"Cherubimon…" Tai repeated before glancing at the others. There seemed to be little choice in the matter. "All right."

"Good," nodded Oryxmon. "You can stop pretending the door is locked now. Step out into the hallway and follow me."

Blinking in surprise Tai hesitated before doing just that. The door creaked open as Koromon hopped over to him and the others rose to their feet.

"So much for subtlety," Koromon chided, jumping into Tai's arms. The group exchanged looks of concern, but without hesitation, they all followed after the goat digimon, climbing stairs and floors until, finally, they were in a vast, cavernous room, empty save for a glowing orb in the center. Oryxmon drew to a halt and stood at attention.

"I bring to you the Digidestined partners of Courage, Knowledge, and Friendship," he announced."

There came a deep rumbling from the darkness and a pair of glowing red eyes cracked open.

"Thank you, Oryxmon," came the response from the eyes, like thunder, distant and threatening. "You may leave now."

Oryxmon bowed politely and departed, leaving the three humans and their respective partners alone with the glowing eyes.

"My apologies," said the voice, upon Oryxmon's departure. The faint outline of a figure shifted in the shadows, hinting at the size of the voice's owner. "It is not my desire to harm anyone, but there has been considerable tension within the Continent of Shadows with regards to human-type digimon."

"I know the history," Tai nodded in understanding, speaking for the group. "Lucemon devastated the land of the Celestial Kingdoms, and even before him there were…troubles. You know who we are now. You know we don't mean any harm to you…lord Cherubimon."

"Yes…" the voice replied. "You don't. The Digidestined have ever been a friend to digimon, great and small, and opponents to the Darkness. But…you are not supposed to be here. The treaty between the worlds was meant to keep them apart. What has happened that caused you to be here."

"A new Apocalymon was born." Now it was Koromon's turn, and he hopped out of Tai's arms to address Cherubimon more fully. "He means to attack the human world and we need to stop him. During the fight though we got stuck here while he went to the human world in a reduced form of Mephistomon. We _have_ to get back there to stop him! Our two worlds depend on it!"

Matt's eyebrows rose, a bit impressed with how the two were conducting themselves now. Almost like…diplomats. A _very_ far cry from the impulsive duo that fought during their many adventures in the digital world.

_Tai… Koromon… You two have come a long way…_

"I understand," Cherubimon replied, his eyes narrowing within the shadows. He had to make this quick. His hands shook from the effort to blot out the voice that told him to destroy them and devour their data. Whether they were telling the truth or not did not matter. A small seed of him still remembered the good that the Digidestined were capable of, and it resisted that voice.

The tremors in his body increased in intensity. The voice, clearly, was _not_ pleased by this resistance.

_Just…a little…longer…_

Light flashed through his mind, reminding him of Ophanimon and Seraphimon's betrayals… They too approached him with all the right sounding words to get him to go along with them. The Digidestined surely weren't any different.

He tightened his fists, his body quaking, and the voice stilled for another moment longer.

"I am forbidden to send you directly to your world," Cherubimon said, releasing the tension in his fists by opening them. "But I can send you to the space between worlds. From there, you will have to make your own way. I am sorry."

"Prodigious!" Izzy exclaimed, to which Matt nodded eagerly.

"It's far better than what we've been trying to do in order to get home," he said. "Tai?"

"Let's do it," the brown-haired boy nodded in agreement. "How long until we can leave?"

"Now."

With a gesture, a gate of light tore open in the space before them, revealing a road of what appeared to be an endless green space and circuits. A blue, grid-like sky stood above it, shifting and warping like waves. Tai recognized it as the path back to the real world. The path to home.

"Pack your bags everyone," he grinned to the others. "It's time to go!"

"Okay, Tentomon," Izzy said, raising his laptop. I'm going to close up now. Hopefully we'll see you on the other side."

_"Ten-four Izzy,"_ came the reply as the man closed up his laptop. Shouldering it into his computer sleeve, he started toward the gateway. Matt turned down toward Gabumon, who was frowning in the direction of Cherubimon.

"Hey… Is everything all right, Gabumon?"

"I…" Gabumon sniffed the air thoughtfully before shaking his head. "No. I…guess not. I think I'm just imagining things. Let's go."

With a careful nod, Matt guided his wolf partner toward the portal and disappeared to the other side, leaving only Tai and Koromon left as they waved goodbye to Cherubimon.

"Thanks for all the help," he said. "If you need anything, just send to Gennai."

With that, the Digidestined of Courage took hold of his partner and together they vanished through the portal, just in time for it to snap shut with a crack of thunder.

Cherubimon stood there, trembling in the darkness as the blues and purples finally overwhelmed his fur. With a mad-inducing, deafening roar, lightning was loosed throughout the shadows, burning away the darkness for but a moment before it all plunged into the black again, leaving the fallen Celestial breathing heavily.

"Warriors," he called after a moment. "It is time to remake the world and set to right all that is wrong."

**###**

"This is going to take time," Ken sighed, turning over another ruined piece of paper from his files – a hardcopy in the event that his computers ever were destroyed or rendered inoperable from a digital event. Were circumstances different, he would have found the whole thing rather humorous. He prepared for a disaster, only for the disaster to be beyond his preparations.

_No plan survives first contact with reality,_ he thought with bitter bemusement.

"It'll be okay," Davis replied from his wheelchair, flashing his friend a grin while, behind him, the two girls Miki and Megumi, sifted through frost and water damaged equipment to see what was still salvageable. "I mean, this should be a piece of cake, right? You've come back from some pretty serious knockdowns, dude."

"I know," Ken nodded shifting on his walking cane, his body still unsteady despite the treatment having healed all the damage from IceDevimon's attack. Joe had not wanted either of them to leave the hospital – especially Davis – but Ken couldn't stand to sit still when he still had work that needed taking care of. Davis was even worse than he in that regard.

"Like I said," he continued. "This is going to take time. We'll be ready, but we're going to work with a tighter budget than before." Closing the file, he tossed it to the side and looked at Davis. "Unless you're thinking of making an offer…"

"Totally was," Davis grinned, wheeling over to him. "I'm loaded. Just name the equipment and whoever we need to fix this place up, and I'll hire them. We can't have the fate of the digital world being put at risk because of some yen signs, right?"

"It's a good thing you're not a miser," Ken chuckled. "Otherwise the digital world would have been destroyed a long time ago." Turning back to his desk, he began to sort through his papers for his list of contacts for computer repair, only to remember that it, along with everything else, had been destroyed by IceDevimon's attack. Running a hand through his hair, his shoulders began to heave as he burst out laughing, causing everyone to turn and look at him in surprise and concern, for this was no ordinary laugh, but a laugh reminiscent of the Digimon Emperor.

"Uh…Davis?" began DemiVeemon, hopping up onto the arm of Davis' wheelchair. "Did…Did Ken just lose his mind?"

"Ken?" asked Wormmon, echoing the worry everyone else was feeling. "Are you all right?"

Ken quieted and turned to face the others, and much to their relief he did not possess the maniacal gleam of the Digimon Emperor persona that he once wore so long ago, but instead an exhausted, humorous expression.

"I will be," he chortled, sniffing. _"We_ will be. Davis, I'm going to have to get back to you on names and equipment. Because…" He stopped, a thought occurring to him. "As a matter of fact…" He grinned. "In the words of Mimi, why don't we go shopping?"

Davis and DemiVeemon both exchanged looks.

"Okay, _now_ I'm pretty sure he's lost his mind," the blue-scaled digimon said, and this time both Ken and Davis broke out laughing.


	70. Battle of Adventurers: The Beginning of the Adventure

"We sure have a long way to go," Matt said as they continued to walk along the endless plain of digital circuit boards, frowning up at the illusive blue orb that was the Earth. No matter how long they walked – and he was no longer sure _how_ long that had been now – their home always seemed to be the same distance as before. He turned over to Izzy. "Where _are_ we? I don't remember having this much of a problem getting back home. I don't even remember any of…of _this!"_

He swung his hands around them in a sweeping gesture, indicating the alien landscape that had been their 'home' for who knows how long now. His eyes fell on Agumon.

However great the amount of time, it certainly had been long enough for Tai's partner to return to his Rookie stage.

"A lot of what we're seeing here is the result of the firewall and, believe it or not, our proximity to the real world. The firewall is a bit different from the type that imprisoned the original Apocalymon, coming in two stages. The first is the standard barrier that restricts data from transferring between the worlds, and the second is an algorithm that calms the shoreline of the distortion that links them, essentially creating a dose of 'reality' that has to be crossed."

He looked up at the digital representation of the Earth. "In layman's terms, it forces digimon to use up more energy to get to the barrier because they have to behave more like real world organisms. It's why reports of bio-emerging digimon show that they're unstable once they cross and organize false proteins to reassemble themselves. To survive bio-emerging, they have to fool the firewall into thinking that they're not data or else they'll be destroyed. Getting to the digital world is a lot easier. The Firewall is supposed to encourage that from the digital world's direction."

Matt sighed. "Can't we just use our digivices like we used to?"

"Afraid not," Izzy replied. "For one, in the absence of a gateway, we'd need more digivices than what we currently have, and we still have the problem with the firewall smoothing out the distortion as we get closer to home."

"The only way we could get home quickly," cut in Tai, "is if we found one of the holes in the firewall and went through that."

"Uh… What?" Izzy and Matt both blinked. "Tai? Care to explain what you mean?"

Blushing, Tai rubbed the back of his head. "Oh, sorry. It's something Gennai told me a while ago. He said something about how our worlds exchanging data within holes in the firewall still or something like that."

"Not between our worlds," Izzy corrected with a sigh. "Within our own world. The digital world is an embodiment of the data flowing through our world. The designers behind the firewall knew that we couldn't seal off everything without cutting off all communication except radio, so…"

"So they made holes for us to use," Matt said in realization. "And digimon have found them. Is that it?"

"It's one hell of a security bug," Tai laughed.

"The world government has been working on getting it resolved, but there's always been a catch: they're never in the same place." Izzy ran a hand through his hair. "Fortunately it's not too bad. Nothing larger than a Rookie can get through…"

"Except for when they start making the holes larger," Tai said, enclosing his thumb and forefinger together into a circle and grinding at it with his hand. "I found that out while investigating Apocalymon."

Seeing the look of dismay on Izzy's face, Tai hesitated in his gesture. "You guys didn't know that?"

"I…no." Izzy looked up at the Earth frantically. "This is bad. If digimon are wearing down the barriers, then it's just a matter of time before even more powerful digimon emerge."

"Not just any digimon," Matt added. "Digimon from the Dark Ocean."

"Why… Why didn't Gennai ever say anything about this?" Izzy asked, more to himself than to anyone else. He shook his head in disbelief. "I don't…"

"Get it together, Izzy," Matt ordered, clamping a hand on his shoulder. "Think. Just because we can't get a hold of anyone while we're in this weird place, it doesn't mean that we can't do _something!"_

"But…what though?" Izzy asked, his brow furrowing as he tried to work through the problem. "Because we're older, we can't manipulate the environment like we would be able to as children. The most we can do is digivolve Gabumon and Agumon so we can fly, but without knowing where how to get through the final barrier and without knowing what _other_ digimon are here…"

"Chill out," Tai grinned, giving the man a thumbs up. "Matt and I can use Omnimon. We'll bust our way through."

_"No!"_ Izzy's eyes grew wide in horror at that. "Tai, we _can't_ use Omnimon! If we did that, we'd _destroy_ the firewall completely! Kami _knows_ what will happen then! What will be let through! We…!"

"Chill out, chill out," Tai waved him down in an attempt to assuage his concerns. "I didn't mean anything about blasting the firewall with the Supreme Cannon or anything." Seeing Matt and Izzy's curious look, Tai grinned. "I was talking like using the Transcendent Sword like a scalpel. If we do that, then we can try contacting someone on the other side about Mephistomon and _then_ we can take care of business. In fact…" Tai turned up toward the digital representation of the Earth. "I think I know just who to get a hold of… So long as Gennai's sources are correct."

Once again, Matt and Izzy exchanged looks, the two men getting the distinct feeling that there was a lot more going on that they were left out of the loop over.

"Tai," began Matt, taking a step forward. "I think you need to explain a few things to us."

The Digidestined of Courage chuckled and ran a hand through his massive head of hair.

"Yeah, I should. Sorry about that. This is all top secret stuff that Gennai didn't want a lot of people to hear since, you know, after that mess with the Dark Masters destroyed his group, he kind of wanted to keep a lower than usual profile. But when he told me this story, it went something like this."

Clearing his throat he began.

"It all starts with someone called _The Biggest Dreamer…"_

**###**

"Get… _in_ there!"

That was the first thing Calumon heard as he flew by the bedroom window of Takato Matsuki's home. Ever curious, he inched closer. It appeared he was fending off some kind of 'Bagmon' by feeding it his laundry. Tilting his head to one side, he settled on the railing just outside Takato's window and watched him do battle with the previously unknown digimon, interested in seeing how this would play out. Humans were…odd creatures when it came to fighting. The Carmon spat them out regularly but when it came to the normal kind of digimon that he saw in the digital world… That was where they needed help.

_Humans are so funny. Maybe these are digimon that they make to train on?_

He continued to inspect Takato's battle, eager to see what the outcome would be.

Takato grunted as he attempted to stuff his bag full of clothes, only to meet with little success as the travel bag simply pushed them back out. Undaunted, Takato pushed down even harder. Finding some success with this, he began to grab a few more select items – sunscreen, a magazine with a bikini-girl on the cover, his swim trunks and a couple more items of clothing – and attempted to stuff them inside as well.

"Man, I was hoping to play videogames this whole…summer…vacation!"

The bag, not having any of it, abruptly spat out the top layer of clothes he had crushed inside. Crying out, Takato leapt on top, attempting to use his butt to push it back down inside, causing Calumon to jump away from the railing in horror, certain that this was how Takato was going to end; devoured by a Bagmon. He needn't have feared though, as within short order the bag toppled both Takato and itself over, causing the boy to groan in exasperation upon landing on the rug. A helpless look came over his face as another concern came to mind. "I don't even know what I'm going to do with Guilmon."

He was finally licensed, making himself and his partner legal, but his parents didn't know that, and as such didn't purchase a ticket or anything to accommodate the Rookie who, at this moment, was no doubt sweating in his home in the hot summer sun.

_The poor guy… He really hasn't been handling the heat very well._

Summer… Except, now that he thought about it, it had been anything but. Since the Harpymon incident, Rika had taken to training him on an almost daily basis. Fortunately she never came down to his house, instead opting to summon him to Guilmon's home for their lessons, but he saw the knowing _smirks_ that his parents leveled at him every time they handed the phone over to him. They didn't say anything, but he knew what went through their minds.

Takato Matsuki apparently caught the eye of a girl.

_"What is wrong with you?"_ he remembered her scowling at him recently. _"You're acting distracted! Whatever it is, get it out of your head or else some digimon is going to end up loading Dinoboy! Do you_ want _that to happen?"_

Takato flinched. _There's no way that I can tell her why I'm distracted,_ he thought. Sighing despondently, he sat up and returned his attention to the problems at hand. First, getting his duffel bag loaded up with clothes without causing an explosion. Second, figure out how to sneak Guilmon past security.

_I wonder if I could ask Ken or Ms. Kamiya…_

He frowned. _No. I'm going to solve this myself. I can't go running to someone every time something goes wrong. I'll figure something out. I have to, or I can't really call myself a Tamer. Now let's see… What could Guilmon fit in?_

He looked over at his closet. Now that he thought about it, he _did_ have an extremely large suitcase from his grandfather that he never thought he'd use.

Getting up, he went over to his closet and began to drag it out. _Here's hoping that Guilmon can fit inside it…_

**###**

"Where's Takato going?"

Mie Matsuki looked up at the customer – something of a family friend of theirs – and smiled.

"Oh, he's just going on vacation to the island where his cousin lives," Mie replied. "Okinawa. It'll be good for him to visit them since it's been a while."

"Won't he be homesick?" the woman asked as Takehiro entered the main store area carrying a tray of freshly baked bread.

"Actually I've been kind of worried about that," the man said, coming to a halt and looking at Mie with concern.

_"Worry_ should be your middle name," Mie jested, smiling at her husband as she tallied up the customer's total. "He'll be fine! He's made the trip by himself befo-Oh!" Mie turned back to the register and swallowed a curse. "You made me mess this up!"

Takehiro smiled at his wife apologetically and went back to his business. "Well, his friend Henry will be with him. He seems like he's got a good head on his shoulders."

He had only met the boy a handful of times since he first stopped by to get the leftover paint, and what he saw was a respectable, polite and very intelligent young man. Quite unlike the other boys Takato associated with, but he supposed that such things were little barrier when two kids shared a common interest. He worried a little that Henry was a Tamer, but so far nothing bad came out of it. The two boys got along well and, in a way, he supposed it was better that Takato had him for a friend. With the reports of increased digimon activity in the area, Henry was in the perfect position to defend Takato should things go bad.

Not that he believed that should be the only reason for them to be friends, but it was definitely an added benefit.

Upon setting the bread down, he heard the door to the side bang open.

"Bye Mom! Bye Dad!" he heard the exhausted call of their son as the boy abruptly left at a run, causing the man to go up to the window to watch the boy depart, carrying his grandfather's massive suitcase.

"What did he pack? His room?" he asked as Mie looked up sharply from the register.

"Thanks a lot…" she muttered, glaring harshly in the direction of her wayward son. "Not even a hug or anything."

"Looked like he was in a hurry," Takehiro said, returning to work. "You know how he is with being on time."

Mie sighed and planted her hands on her hips. "All the same, it would be nice if he remembered that every once in a while. Honestly, what happened to him? He's been acting strange for months now."

"Boys will be boys," Takehiro chuckled, stopping at the register and leaning against it. "Maybe he wanted to see that girl he's always with before leaving. I'm sure she's going to miss him. I'd miss you."

"Oh, you…" Mie said, leaning toward her husband and giving him a quick kiss. "Get back there before you burn the bread again."

"Yes, ma'am," Takehiro laughed, giving her a salute before disappearing into the kitchen. Mie watched him go with a smile on her face and a bit of a blush as well. They had the whole place to themselves for a while. It had been so long since they last had that luxury.

Mie found herself unexpectedly giggling like a schoolgirl when the parents were away.

_Oh, we're going to take full advantage of this tonight,_ she thought with a grin.

**###**

Rika made her way down the streets of Shinjuku, hands in her pockets and a bored expression on her face. For the first time in what felt like a long while, she had, surprisingly, nothing to do. She cast her eyes skyward, finding a plane taking off, and she imagined Takato and Henry were on it. She didn't know if that was the case – as Takato hadn't told her the precise time they were leaving and she didn't ask – but it drove home just how much she had taken to filling her day with training the goggle-wearing boy for the job of being a Tamer. Not that she devoted every hour of every day to the task, but it certainly filled a good portion of her time.

" _Just imagine! Your very own virtual pet! You'll never find a more realistic digital friend!"_

Turning her violet gaze down from the sky to the big screen plastered on the side of a building, she frowned. The _V-Pet._ An annoying, barking thing that everyone seemed to be raving about, including her grandmother, who downloaded a copy. Supposedly it was meant to assist with various tasks on the computer and could even be played with, but all she saw was this yapping thing that simply did not shut up or take a nap unless the computer was turned off.

That wasn't even the worst part about it.

_Realistic?_ she _harrumphed,_ turning away. _Please. Come on Renamon._

Hearing her thoughts through their link, the vulpine digimon materialized beside her as they descended a stairwell to find someplace a little cooler than the glaring sun.

"You seem to be a bit in a mood today," the kitsune noted, eyeing Rika curiously. The girl _harrumphed_ again dismissively.

"Not a lot going on today, like usual," Rika grumbled. This much at least was true. Ever since the incident with Harpymon a couple weeks ago there had been a sudden drought of Wild Ones. Ken wondered if that indicated a connection and, if so, if the problem cleared up as a result of politics in the digital world.

Ken might hope so, but Rika on the other hand… She felt the need to fight now more than ever.

_Nothing to do… School's out. No homework to do. Gogglehead's gone and so is his weird friend and rabbitmon. Sora's away for business with Mom…_

What was left?

Renamon regarded Rika with a critical eye, noting her agitation. Though the girl was loath to admit it, she was feeling alone for the first time in a long while. Even though she would be there for her partner, Renamon knew that she wasn't the same thing as one of the Tamers, and the adults…even for they, who were human, there was a limit to what they could do.

_"Rika,"_ Renamon began, phasing out of sight of the humans as they reached the bottom of the stairs. _"You look warm. Perhaps you should go home. There's air conditioning there. Wouldn't you be more comfortable?"_

Rika _harrumphed_ again, saying nothing in response. Although she knew Renamon was right, she felt goosebumps rise on her skin at the thought of cold air blasting over her. It reminded her too much of IceDevimon.

"A Tamer doesn't walk away from danger," she said. "We'll go home _after_ we've finished our patrol."

_"If you say so,"_ Renamon replied with concern, but she didn't press the issue.

There were some things that Rika needed to work out on her own. Until then, she would be there for her. It was the most she could do for the time being.

A loud yip reached her ears, and Renamon turned to find a pair of women laughing together at a cell phone. She knew the sound for what it was; the _V-Pet_ that had become so dominant in human digital technology of late.

_Humans…_ she thought. _So strange. They seem to have every reason to be afraid of artificial intelligence, yet they go and create just that to help them run their everyday conveniences._

Shaking her head, she withdrew deeper into the shadows, following after Rika.


	71. Battle of Adventurers: Live at the Airport

The half-Chinese Tamer smiled as Takato returned from down the aisle, looking utterly exasperated. And no wonder. For reasons known only to himself, Calumon snuck on board the plane with them, and as a result, in his ongoing need to have his cuteness acknowledged by the whole world, he spent the vast majority of the trip flying around, exploring every nook and cranny he could squeeze himself into, eating whatever sugary foods he could get his tiny little hands on and sitting himself into whatever laps of whoever he found interesting and didn't scream which, thankfully, did not happen at all. Indeed, despite recent events, the group of people on this plane didn't seem at all perturbed or anxious by the presence of the tiny digimon. The only exception was a single stewardess who Calumon accidently tossed a juice at.

All in all, it remained a pleasant trip, and a far cry from the crowd that nearly brained Takato with a rock in their frustrations over the digimon rampages in the human world.

 _Still, it doesn't seem to be doing Takato's nerves any good,_ Henry mused, making room for the boy.

"Calumon still on the loose?" he asked as the goggle-wearing Tamer collapsed into his seat.

"Yeah, but I saw him disappear into one of the luggage overheads so maybe he can lose himself in that until we land or something." Sighing, he lolled his head over to one side so that he looked out the window, watching as the clouds passed them by.

"Fat chance of that," Terriermon quipped from his spot on Henry's lap. "You know Calumon. Right when you least expect it or want it, he'll go and cause trouble at the drop of a hat."

Takato groaned at the thought, not at all enjoying the thought of this nightmare ending. "Man… This summer is _not_ going the way I hoped it would at all. I just wanted something nice and quiet where I could do nothing except play video games…"

"And get tormented by Rika," Terriermon giggled.

"Be nice," Henry remarked, giving his partner a light bop on the head. "It's _training,_ remember?"

"With Rika, what's the difference?" Terriermon shifted on Henry's lap and turned toward Takato. "Look on the bright side, Takato. This'll give you a break from her."

"Terriermon…"

"What? It's not my fault that she's been dragging him out for 'training' or whatever you want to call it every day for the past few weeks now!" Folding his tiny arms across his chest, he frowned. "I don't get it. First she doesn't want anything to do with him and now it's like he can't get rid of her. Not that it actually changes much, except now she's not stalking you and trying to load Guilmon. Either way, I'm telling you, it's _creepy!"_

"How about we just focus on being glad she's not trying to load Guilmon, okay?" Henry chuckled, before turning to Takato. "It's been a long time since you've seen your cousin Kai, huh?" Henry asked, opting to change the subject.

Takato looked back at Henry, eyebrows raised before nodding exuberantly.

"Yeah! Hold on, I think I have an old picture."

Digging into his pants pocket, he produced just one such item and showed it to Henry. The boy grinned upon seeing what appeared to be a much younger Takato, probably not much older than his sister Suzie, wearing a neat, formal shirt…and being wrestled out of it by a mischievous looking boy with tanned skin and a dull yellow shirt.

"We used to have _so_ much _fun_ together," Takato said, though Henry didn't buy it. Judging from the way Takato in the photo looked – which was to say, upset – and the way the boy looked now – a half-grimace at memories that belied his choice of words – he had every reason to not look forward to spending time with his rough and tumble cousin.

"Yeah it looks like it," Henry laughed while Terriermon clambered up onto Henry's shoulder to get a better look.

"So…basically you've gone from getting pummeled by Rika to getting pummeled by Rika with a smile." Terriermon turned toward Takato with a sympathetic look on his face. "How _do_ you end up in these fixes?"

"That's just the way my luck goes I guess," Takato chuckled.

"So you're the universe's chew toy?" Terriermon asked as the fasten-seatbelt light came on. "Boy are you going to have an interesting time when you get into high school."

"I'm pretty sure I already have an interesting time as it is," Takato twittered a little nervously, buckling himself in along with Henry. "I hope Guilmon's doing okay. We had a bit of a bump earlier."

"I'm still amazed you managed to sneak him in the way you did," Henry said, looking at him in awe. "How _did_ you do that?"

"I…don't want to think about it. It might jinx me."

"You're whole life is already one big jinx, so what's one more?" Terriermon chided, hopping back down into Henry's lap. "Besides! At least it won't be boring."

Takato and Henry both glanced at each other and groaned.

**###**

"Man that was a horrible flight," Takato sighed as he pushed his massive suitcase in front of him. "Of course, now I have to go on a _horrible_ vacation."

While 'horrible' was a bit of an overstatement, he could at least feel glad that they were now on solid ground and out of airport security. Soon, once he arrived at Kai's place, he could, he hoped, get Guilmon out to romp around and play until he dropped.

Until then…

"You sure you don't want to come with me?" he asked Henry, drawing to a halt. Pausing, Henry turned back at him apologetically.

"I can't," he said, raising his hands briefly before dropping them back to his sides. "I already made a bunch of plans to go see those underwater ruins I've been reading about."

Takato moaned, his eyes drooping a little at that. Henry always seemed to have the most interesting things going on in his life. Exploring underwater ruins… Computer programming… Seemingly anything and everything.

There were times that Takato wished he could be more like Henry.

"Okay…" he began, only to be jump in surprise as his suitcase suddenly began to bounce up and down frantically.

 _"Are we done playing hide and seek?"_ complained the voice of Guilmon from within. _"Takato!"_

The bouncing increased in agitation, only to quickly fall over on its side, causing the dinosaur digimon trapped within to grunt in surprise at the impact. Feeling bad for his partner, Takato bent over and quickly righted him.

"Not _yet,_ Guilmon," Takato sighed. He certainly wished he could have Guilmon outside with him. He was now _seriously_ regretting not asking for help from Ms. Kamiya or Ken. He was certain that they could have made things easier.

Still… He didn't like the idea of always running to them every time he had a problem.

 _If I had told my parents about Guilmon, then maybe this wouldn't be happening,_ he thought before wincing, thinking about his mother's reaction once she found out that he was partnered to a fire breathing dinosaur. _Yeah… Right. And maybe Guilmon won't breathe fire. Why'd I have to make him so big?_

"Don't worry," Henry assuaged, attempting to cheer them up. "There'll be plenty of fun things to keep you busy on the island."

"Yeah I know," Takato began, still looking troubled. "But I haven't seen my cousin in a _long_ time."

"Relax!" Henry advised. "You'll get along fine. If you get bored, call me. I'll come visit."

"Really?" Takato asked, not sounding very hopeful.

"Sure," Henry nodded, starting away from them. On his shoulder, Terriermon raised an ear, bidding them farewell.

"But don't be boring when we visit, okay?"

Takato felt his spirits lift a little at that, and he smiled. Maybe the summer wouldn't be so bad after all. "Okay Terriermon!" he called back before a disturbance caught his attention. A disturbance of cuteness.

"Oh! Calumon!" he exclaimed, spotting the tiny, white digimon flying between three women as they were taken aback by his sudden presence, but the smiles on their faces indicated that they were ready to start gushing over him at any second.

For once, though Takato couldn't for the life of him understand why, the creampuff digimon began flying away from the women, giggling and laughing up a storm. Groaning, Takato raced after him. "Calumon! Get back here already!"

An automatic door opened as Calumon drew near to it, and he quickly ducked through and disappeared. Putting on the speed, he followed him through and panned around, finding…nothing.

"Huh?" Takato blinked, trying to locate his quarry, and failing. He scowled, once again amazed – and annoyed – at how Calumon could simply up and disappear like that. Everywhere he went, it was all about doing as he pleased without so much as a second thought for the world around him.

The airport announcer seemed to share some degree of his frustration.

_"The right zone is for loading and unloading only. I don't know what you think you're doing there when you're not loading or unloading!"_

Takato sighed. He had lost Calumon… _again._

 _What are we going to do about that little guy?_ he wondered. _One of these days, he's going to get into trouble and…_

He groaned inwardly, his gaze falling upon a nearby television screen as he spied a woman on it running at a fast pace, only to abruptly stop, beaming wildly.

_"We're about to talk with the inventor of the V-Pet!"_

Takato pushed on ahead, keeping one eye out for Calumon and the other out for his cousin. The V-Pet. He had been seeing them around a lot more lately, and the advertising for the product only seemed to grow as time wore on.

Passing by a number of people sitting in chairs, waiting for their flight, a TV screen continued the interview.

 _"Ryuuji Tamashiro! Your digital pet – the V-Pet – has captured the attention of the_ entire _world! What could you tell us about…?"_

"Where's Kai?" Takato asked aloud, tuning out the reporter as he drew to a halt. "He said he'd meet me here."

 _Great. I can't find Calumon_ and _I can't find my own cousin! I've got to be the worst person ever at finding people!_

 _"It's a friend kids can take anywhere!"_ he heard Ryuuji say on the television screen behind him as he continued to scan the area for some sign, _any_ sign of his cousin. _"But of course the V-Pet is much more than just that! It can take care of E-mail, online chatting, pretty much anything on the net that you want it to do! It's basically an artificial life form! A_ digital _pet!"_

_A digital pet? Artificial life form?_

Surrendering to his curiosity, he finally went back to the television screen. A man wearing amber-colored sunglasses was gesticulating in a grandiose manner as he played up his product.

 _Henry was talking about the V-Pet recently,_ he thought. _His dad bought it for their home._

He frowned slightly. He couldn't remember Henry being very impressed by it, though it certainly managed a great deal of the family's online life well enough. It certainly balanced bank accounts and Henry found himself being directed to all kinds of websites based on his search history – websites he didn't know existed yet, which saved him considerable amounts of time and energy. It had been how he found out about the underwater ruins.

Takato himself wasn't sure what to make of them though, but then he didn't have much use for a computer that he didn't have. His parents used fairly dated technology – basically what they could afford – and didn't have much of an online presence either.

But then, some people were rather wary of the Internet, given the role it played in the birth of digimon and the eventual war that came out of their existence.

 _"Parents are raving about how much they love this V-Pet and how their children interact with it,"_ the reporter continued. _"Given that digimon still attempt to partner with children, they view the V-Pet as a safer alternative. Do you think that this will prevent digimon from trying to partner with our children?"_

Ryuuji laughed uncomfortably, rubbing the back of his head. _"Well… I'm not so sure about what impact this will have on the digital world, but I'm just glad that parents and kids are having fun with it."_

The reporter appeared unsatisfied with that response and pressed ahead.

_"There have been questions about whether or not you intended for the V-Pet to impact the digital world. Some in the digital technology sectors have been saying that the V-Pet shares similarities to the Kuramon virus from the Rainbow Bridge incident back in 2003…"_

Ryuuji suddenly burst out in laughter, this time loud and resounding; so much so that Takato could hear it distantly from his present location.

 _"Please,"_ Ryuuji began after calming down. _"Kuramon uses much of the same source code that was behind the artificial intelligence projects back in the mid-1980's, but it was highly altered by its 'evolution'. You'd be hard pressed to find a programmer delving into technology such as the V-Pet who doesn't use that code as a starting point. Even Google uses a variation to help you conduct your searches better by analyzing your search history, which does require some measure of 'intelligence' in its predictive algorithms. However, like Google, our V-Pet violates no laws regarding the AI laws. It's completely beneficial and, most importantly,_ safe. _It cannot and will not evolve on its own, and we have a team of programmers monitoring the code around the clock."_

" _Well…I'm sure we're all glad that you seem to have made something so useful to humanity without the problems of digimon,"_ smiled the reporter. _"So what's next for you?"_

 _"I'm still busy with this,"_ Ryuuji laughed again, the tension seeming to evaporate completely now. _"I want a V-Pet in every ho…huh?"_

Takato blinked as a dark-skinned boy suddenly appeared on the screen, holding a sign that said _Takato._

 _"Hey kid!"_ exclaimed the reporter suddenly. _"What are you doing?"_

 _"Excuse me,"_ the boy began, looking around him in confusion. _"Have you seen Takato? I was supposed to meet him right around here."_

There came a series of confused expressions from the reporter and Ryuuji as they looked at this kid who suddenly intruded on their live broadcast, causing Takato to sigh and press his face into his palm.

Kai, as per his recollection of him, simply jumped right into something without always taking what it was into account. Taking hold of Guilmon's suitcase, he began to push him in the direction he heard the laughter, expecting he was going to have to get involved.

**###**

Rika didn't know why she was here; at this bakery that is. Aside from her affliction of boredom, she had no business or interest being here. Bakery's weren't really anything she was interested in, and yet…here she was; at _this_ bakery. Not just any bakery of course, but the one where _he_ lived, if the address Ken had provided her was any indication. The Gogglehead whose real name she knew as Takato Matsuki.

It was a nice bakery, she had to admit. A bit cramped looking, but it had a nice, homely feel that, as much as she hated to admit it, she rather liked.

Coming to a stop in front of a pastry, she picked it up. It looked quite good, and she wondered if Takato knew how to bake something like this.

 _It'd make sense, seeing as how he lives here and probably has to help out,_ she thought, though she doubted he would be as good as his parents, who she gathered did the lion's share of the work.

"Find everything you're looking for?" asked a man – Takato's father she suspected – with a long, angular face and a bandana over his head from by the counter, smiling at Rika. Deciding that she spent enough time here already, she nodded and gave the man a small smile of her own and approached the counter with the pastry in hand.

Distantly, she heard a TV running somewhere in the background, perhaps in the kitchen.

" _Seen_ who?!" she heard a man exclaim suddenly, sounding furious.

_"Listen kid! This is a live broadcast!"_

_"Well I'm happy for you, but that doesn't help me find Takato."_

Rika's ears twitched at the name, and the sound of a ruckus that suddenly seemed to erupt from the unseen television as she handed the pastry over to Takato's father.

"Okay," the man began, quickly tapping the register to fill out the order. "Let's see… That'll be two hundred yen. Would you like a bag?"

Rika was just about to answer when the sound of a woman's voice yelled out from the kitchen.

_"Honey! Come quick! You've got to see this! Takato's on TV!"_

"What's he doing on TV?!" the man exclaimed suddenly, bolting away from the register, leaving a startled and bewildered Rika standing there, counting out her yen.

 _Did he just…leave me here with the cash register unguarded?_ she thought in amazement, suddenly realizing where Takato got his flakey behavior from.

 _"I don't know but it's cool!"_ she heard the boy's mother reply to her husband, only to hear the reporter end whatever was going on.

_"And now it's time for the weather!"_

_"That's too bad. I missed it,"_ groaned the man while his wife gave a light laugh. _"You should have called me sooner!"_

_"At least we know he got there safe. Your worries are over."_

The man returned to the register a second later, looking a bit put out. Upon seeing Rika still standing there, he chuckled in embarrassment.

"Sorry about that," he said, rubbing the back of his head in that same way Takato would whenever he would get caught flatfooted doing something embarrassing. "Uh…anyway… That'll be… What did I say it was again?" He checked the register. "Oh, right. Two hundred yen."

"Is Takato doing okay?" Rika found herself asking as she handed him the required money. His father raised an eyebrow.

"Huh? You know him?" he asked before a smile suddenly bloomed on his face. "Oh! You must be that girl who's been calling every day!"

Rika shifted uncomfortably all of a sudden, feeling heat bake across her face ever so slightly, suddenly getting the feeling that she had just stirred up a hornet's nest best left alone.

**###**

Ryuuji stood there, mouth agape as he stared at the goggle-wearing boy getting pulled up along with his companion by the police. This…This could hardly be a coincidence…could it? Somehow the Hazard Tamer was here…in Okinawa.

_Impossible. Of all the… How could this happen?_

This… This changed _so_ many things

Or did it?

He wasn't here to start a fight or cause any devastation that would attract the attention of any of the Digidestined. So far, his plans had been fairly benign in appearance and no one – not even his own programmers – had detected anything so far. Not even the faintest whiff of that former Digidestined of Hope sniffing around his trail.

 _This…is live television,_ he noted as well. If he _were_ under investigation, then the best thing to do would be to throw off suspicion now and look like the good guy. He could act later if he felt it necessary. A little investigation wouldn't hurt.

 _I'll need to divert Hypnos' attention elsewhere,_ he thought. _And I know just the mon to do it._

First thing was first however. It was time to put on a show.

"We're taking you to downtown right now," began one of the policemen to Takato. Seeing his chance to get in good graces, he approached them, hands up in a placating gesture.

"It's okay officers," he smiled graciously, aware that all eyes were on him. "I don't think these kids meant any harm after all. There's no need to punish them for a simple accident. And besides."

His grin broadening, he clasped his hands on the two boys' shoulders and pulled them close for the camera shot.

"They're potential V-Pet customers!"

Cameras flashed then as the reporter, shrugging, approached them and held out her microphone.

"And what's your name?" she asked.

"Takato."

"Uh-huh. And where're you from?"

The 'interview' was short and fairly standard, ending quickly as the reporter turned back to the camera once all questions had been answered, deciding that now was the best time to return to the weather. Sighing heavily, Takato looked up at Ryuuji Tamashiro.

"Sorry about all of this," he said, bowing politely. Ryuuji laughed and ruffled Takato's hair.

"Don't worry about it," he said. "I'm just glad I got to meet such swell kids such as yourselves. You two are on vacation?"

Takato bobbed his head up and down. "I'm staying with my cousin, Kai for a little while," he said, indicating the boy next to him, who clasped hold of him in a companionable hug and pulled him close.

"We're going to have _lots_ of fun!" Kai declared, his bravado apparently having remained unchanged over the years.

"Yeah, well…let's hope that we don't get into any trouble or anything…"

"Oh come on!" Kai declared, looking at his cousin with a disapproving look. "Trouble's all part of the fun of summer! You've got to live it up, Takato!"

Ryuuji grinned as the cameras continued to flash.

 _Looks like this operation will be able to progress smoothly after all,_ he thought.

Feeling a strange, itching sensation on his back, he spun around, frowning.

_Weird… For a second there I thought I sensed…a digimon?_

His eyes fell upon Takato's suitcase – he had seen it jump right up after falling, quite unexpectedly – and suspected that it housed his partner. The _why_ was strange however since he was most assuredly licensed.

He shrugged. He didn't understand the ways of humans very well, save that their faults were easy for him to take advantage of.

Smiling confidently to himself, he shrugged his travel bag onto his shoulder and headed off, waving to the two boys, bidding them all the luck on their vacation.

 _You two had best enjoy it while you can,_ he thought. _For it will be your last._


	72. Battle of Adventurers:  Hurting Heart, Hurting Body

Davis was not in the best of moods.

To begin with, he was in France. Not that he didn't like France, but it was half a world away, and with the problems Shinjuku was facing, he worried about not being there when Ken needed him. Nonetheless, he was here, in part on a business trip; discussions with an investor to open up one of his famed noodle restaurants in the Paris area, and also in part at Ken's insistence.

_"You should see Catherine,"_ he had told him. _"Absence may make the heart grow fonder, but sometimes, when distance is concerned, the heart will also wander."_

Such was Davis' luck now as he sat in the airport, checking the time on his cell phone. The V-Pet marched along the screen, barking at him. He muted it and put it away, ducking his head into his hands. Next to him, DemiVeemon looked at him worriedly.

"I know I already asked this, but… Are you okay, buddy?"

"No," Davis replied with a groan. "I haven't suddenly gotten better in the last hour dude."

"Sorry," DemiVeemon apologized, his expression softening. "This sure stinks doesn't it?"

"Like a dirty sock, DemiVeemon ol' buddy. A sweaty, dirty gym sock that's been worn for at least a week."

Davis raised his head, his expression one of desolation. "Man. I feel like this week has been a complete waste. The deal to set up a new restaurant has fallen through, and Catherine…"

He choked back on the name, tears stinging his eyes. Catherine. At one point, a long time ago, Kari had been the light of his life, and she still was, after a fashion, though he knew now that nothing more would ever grow into anything more. Catherine had managed to fill that void to a degree, helping him come to terms with his feelings and, in time, he grew to love her.

Those feelings however, Catherine did…

"Davis! Yoo hoo!"

Looking up in the direction of the voice calling to him, blinking in surprise, the Bearer of Courage saw a light-haired woman jogging toward him, one hand waving wildly in an attempt to flag down his attention. For half a second, he thought it was Catherine, but a second blink made him see the woman for who she really was. Rumiko Nonaka, Rika's mother and his ex girlfriend from high school. Behind her trailed Sora Takenouchi.

"Uh…hey," he greeted, getting to his feet. He brushed a hand over his face quickly, hoping that they wouldn't notice anything. He felt awful. He could only imagine how he looked on the outside.

"Davis, it's so great to see you again," Rumiko said, coming to a halt in front of him, beaming happily at him. "And what a coincidence that we're leaving on the same day."

"Right," Sora said, coming up from behind Rumiko with a small, half-smile for the woman. "Just like it's a coincidence that we're on the same flight that he is…right?"

Rumiko gave a light laugh, holding a hand to her mouth as she turned to Sora.

"Coincidences abound," she agreed.

Davis, with his current emotional exhaustion, could only shake his head, not in the mood to be solving puzzles or anything of the sort.

"Well…I'm glad to be heading home," Davis sighed, leaning back in his seat. This caused Sora to raise an eyebrow and look at Rumiko questioningly before going back to Davis.

"Are you okay, Davis? You don't look good."

"Catherine broke up with me," Davis said mournfully. Sora shot a look over at Rumiko. Earlier, while they had been packing, Rumiko had been talking to Catherine. It had hardly been a surprise to her as Catherine had contacts in the fashion business and even posed for some clothing magazines in the past. What _had_ been a surprise was how quickly Rumiko had changed their flight upon the end of the conversation. She suspected Davis had been the reason behind it upon seeing him. _Now_ she confirmed it completely.

"She broke up with you?" Sora asked, taking a step closer. "But…why? When?"

"Well… I guess it wasn't really a breakup," Davis admitted, though it certainly felt like it. "It was… Well…more like we were never a thing to begin with." Looking up at Sora, he saw her confused expression, so he continued. "It was the day that I hung out with you and Rumiko. The one where you took the picture of us in front of the Eiffel Tower?" Davis gave a sudden, shuddering sigh, barely holding the grief back. "I was talking to her that night over dinner about where our relationship was going and…"

His fingers curled into his palms, the nails biting into the skin. "She gave me this weird look like…like she didn't know what I was talking about and then…when I made a bit more sense…she explained to me that she thought we were just…you know. Friends with benefits."

Dawning comprehension came upon the two women as Davis hung his head.

"When I asked…if she were interested in more than that…she said no. She wasn't looking for commitment or anything." He looked up, his eyes looking as though he had aged on the inside a few more years. "It's my fault," he said. "I was stupid. I thought that…since we were going on dates and everything…that it meant… I should have checked just to make sure. It would have saved a lot of trouble."

"Oh Davis…" Sora said sympathetically, placing a hand on his shoulder and giving it a soft squeeze. "I'm sorry."

"You're going to be okay, right?" Rumiko asked, looking at him with concern. Sora glanced at her, wondering just how much of this she knew. She seemed genuinely surprised at this sudden turn of events. Perhaps Catherine hadn't said anything at all?

_Rumiko's not the sort of person to just jump on someone as soon as they're available,_ she reminded herself. _She was always a bit flakey, but she would never do that to someone._

Still…a part of her couldn't help but wonder. The last time Rumiko had been in a serious relationship was with Spencer Damon.

Davis ran a hand over the back of his neck and he forced a smile on his face that did not fool Sora in the least.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," he said. "I'm pretty good at bouncing back whenever I trip over myself. Don't worry about me."

Rumiko took a step closer and sat down beside him, placing a hand on his other shoulder, rubbing it gently.

"Well, if you ever need someone to talk to, you know who to call," she said, her violet eyes meeting his brown ones. Davis held her gaze for a moment before blushing lightly and turning away.

"Thanks Rumiko," he said, Sora all the while frowning at her two friends.

**###**

"You feel that Takato?" Kai asked, leaning over the railing of the boat that took them on the final leg of their journey. "The spray of the waves! The roll of the boat!"

He took a deep breath of the fresh, salt air and then turned to look at his cousin, only to find that he wasn't right behind him.

"Takato?" he asked, glancing around before spying him down on the lower deck near the stairs, sitting down, holding on to his luggage and looking positively seasick.

"I could do without the rolling," the boy groaned. Every fiber of his body twitched and trembled in response to the gurgling of his stomach, clearly unhappy with the constant up and down motions. His head was in no better condition either, as he felt a considerable amount of dizziness. He couldn't get up without the whole world _lurching_ around him. He could only imagine what it must be like for Guilmon, still stuck inside the suitcase and unable to _see_ what was going on.

_Just hang in there, boy,_ he thought quietly. _Just a little bit longer and then we'll be on dry land again. And then a little bit longer until we get to Kai's house._

_Oh man… This has to be the worst day of Guilmon's life. I should have talked to Ken or Ms. Kamiya for help with this…_

"I can't believe you're seasick from a big boat like this," Kai laughed, climbing down the stairs to see him. He cast a glance over at Takato's luggage and chuckled at its absurd size. "Hey, what's with the suitcase anyway? You planning on moving in for a few years or something?"

"No, that's not it," Takato began, shifting against the suitcase a little. "I just…"

He trailed off as another bit of rocking caused him to gag. He clamped his mouth shut and swallowed hard. His stomach protested, but so far its contents stayed inside.

"It's okay by me," Kai continued anyway with a sarcastic grin, pointing at himself. "It'd be fun having you around. Plus I'd _finally_ have someone to make fun of for being seasick." Turning, he saw the port drawing near and his smile broadened. "Hey! We're almost there!"

Upon saying that, he heard a sudden squeal of delight and a white blob soared briefly through the air out of the corner of his eye. Eyebrows raising in surprise, he turned and went over to the boat's railing and stuck his head out just in time to see a small, white… _alien_ looking creature with large ears for wings land on the back of a seagull, giggling up a storm. The seagull didn't appear to be the least bit concerned by its unexpected passenger and rose higher into the air. Kai tracked its trail for a moment before pulling away.

"I think I just saw a digimon out there," he said, his voice hushed with awe. Takato felt his stomach clench again, this time for a different reason.

_Calumon… Guilmon… How will Kai be…when he finally meets them?_

Distractedly, he turned to face the water as it churned beneath them. He found his mouth dropping at how clear the water was, and how it shone and sparkled beneath the light of the sun like a million diamonds.

And the island…

"Wow, this place is even more beautiful than I remembered," he said, his breath honestly taken away by the sight. "I mean, look at that _water!"_ Getting up, his seasickness momentarily forgotten and peered over in awe. "You can see all the way to the bottom. This is so cool!"

Grinning, Kai turned back toward him. "Do you think you can make it back to my house on your own?" he asked suddenly, prompting Takato to arch an eyebrow at him.

"What do you mean?"

"It's just one road on the island," Kai continued, not answering his question. "You can't get lost."

With that, Kai suddenly climbed up onto the railing, balancing himself precariously on it. Yet the grin on his face spoke of a confidence born from long experience.

_"What are you doing?!"_ Takato exclaimed, alarmed.

"Swimming home," Kai answered simply, and then promptly suited words to action as he dove off the railing in one, smooth, fluid motion. Water splashed in Takato's face. There were a number of horrified gasps and exclamations from other passengers, prompting the ship's captain to step outside, scowling, already suspecting what was going on.

"Kai is that you?" he yelled out indignantly. "Didn't I tell you not to do that?"

Kai broke the surface of the water and turned around, kicking his feet to stay afloat.

"Don't worry Takato!" he called back out to the boy still on the boat. "I do this all the time! My house is just a little ways away!"

With that, he immediately began swimming away, making for land. With a heavy sigh, Takato leaned on the railing, watching him depart.

"This is sure going to be an interesting summer," he said to himself.

**###**

_Just a little ways away?_ Takato grunted, pushing Guilmon up the hill in the road. Sweat poured down his face as he trudged ever upward. _He didn't say anything about how I had to go up a small mountain to get there._

_"Takato…"_ came Guilmon's complaining voice from inside the suitcase. _"Can I come out now? I think I've got a sock in my nose…"_

Pausing, Takato took a moment to wipe his forehead. He was sweating _bad!_

"Not just yet, Guilmon!" he gasped, his eyelids suddenly feeling heavy. His head felt as though someone had stuffed it full of wool, making it hard to think.

_"But I'm getting tired!"_ Guilmon whined.

_"You're_ getting tired?" Takato replied, leaning against the suitcase. "How do you think _I_ feel after pushing you around like this?"

He sighed and closed his eyes, feeling exhaustion wash over him. He just wanted to stop moving for a little while. Maybe…just for a second…

_"Takatomon!"_ Guilmon exclaimed, becoming extremely agitated now. He had just about had it with this vacation so far! He had done nothing but ride around in a cramped suitcase all day so far for what felt like forever, inhaling the smell of socks and other clothes and feeling his muscles and his bladder cramp up painfully. Takato had to let him out before he…!

The suitcase tipped suddenly and Guilmon squawked as it crashed to the side, the latch popping open. Fresh air! Fresh air blew over Guilmon and he shot up, breathing it in with one massive gasp. After taking a moment to enjoy the open world once more, he glanced around for his partner…only to find him lying on the ground, passed out.

"Takato?" Guilmon poked him with his nose. "Takato? Are you okay?"

"Kai…" Takato mumbled, half asleep. "Just…up the road…"

His voice trailed off as he fully and completely passed out. Guilmon felt a nervous twitter pulsate in his digi-core. He wasn't used to his partner falling asleep in the middle of the day.

_I need to get him to Kai's place,_ he thought. _But I can't carry him and his suitcase at the same time…_ He looked behind him at the open suitcase and its spilled contents.

A thought occurred to him. Picking up the boy's clothes with his claws, he piled them back into the suitcase and, after some experimentation, locked it back up.

After righting the suitcase, he glanced over at Takato.

"Don't worry, Takatomon," he said, sniffing the air for some sign of the other boy's scent, having caught it even from within the suitcase. "I'll get you to Kai's place."

**###**

Kai ran down the path, a worried look on his face. He got home in record time and quickly changed out of his wet clothes into something a little better suited for the warm island weather. Yet Takato wasn't there upon his arrival, and after some waiting still didn't have him arrive, he decided to go looking for him.

"Where could Takato be?" he asked himself aloud. "He couldn't have gotten lost out here!"

Getting lost on the island was impossible. There was only one road after all, and Takato had been to the island before. How hard could it be, even after all these years?

It should be impossible, but…this _was_ Takato after all. He remembered him being a little bit flakey when they were children. Nervous about every little thing, unhappy about the heat and always homesick.

He got the feeling that Takato had a panic attack and simply planted himself down. The boy just seemed to have gotten _worse_ since…

"Oh, there he is!" he smiled, spying the boy's familiar goggles. Goggles! Why did he even have them? They were good for swimming, sure, but he didn't understand why he wore them in the first place as a fashion accessory. Did he think he was a Digidestined or something?

Picking up the pace, he hurried on over. "Bet you wish you didn't bring that big suitcase now, huh?"

Something was…not right though about the scene. As he drew near, he found that the boy was lying _atop_ his suitcase, conked out, and something behind him was pushing him along. Something red…with a tail.

Kai slammed to a stop, suddenly freaking out. There was a red dinosaur – a _digimon –_ pushing Takato and his suitcase along. He backed up, barely resisting the urge to break into a run in the opposite direction, but to his credit he stood his ground, not wanting to abandon his cousin to whatever fate the reptile had in mind.

The dinosaur paused in front of him and poked his head forward, nudging Takato's sleeping head to the side lightly, causing the boy to groan a little, assuring Kai that whatever happened, his cousin was most definitely _not_ dead.

"Um… Do you have something I could eat?" the dinosaur asked in a childish, nasally voice. Kai raised a hand defensively, trying to figure out a way to grab Takato and run, but the dinosaur looked as though he could chase them down and eat them pretty handily.

_Eat them…_

Digimon liked to eat, he had heard. _Maybe if I promise food, we'll be okay. Man, I hope our fridge is stocked!_

"Yeah," he nodded quickly. "You bet! Just don't eat me!"

The dinosaur tilted his head to one side in confusion. "Huh? Eat you? Why would I do that?"

Of all the possible responses, that one caught Kai by surprise.

"You mean…you don't eat humans?" he asked carefully. Guilmon shook his head.

"I like to eat bread. Do you have any bread? I haven't had anything since Takato stuffed me in this suitcase."

"Stuffed you…in his suitcase?" Kai looked over at the suitcase and then at the digimon. Then back at the suitcase again. It certainly _looked_ large enough to house the reptile. Kai laughed as the puzzle pieces came together.

This digimon was Takato's digimon partner, only for some reason he was lugging him around secretly. Breathing a sigh of relief, he approached the boy, taking care to keep the suitcase between himself and the digimon…just in case.

"He's out like a light, huh?" he asked, poking the boy's face. The only response he got was another light moan. The digimon bobbed his head up and down.

"Uh-huh," he replied. "He's been pushing me around all day." He looked over his shoulder at the steep hill they had been climbing up. "It _is_ pretty hard walking up this far."

"I guess I didn't think about how someone like him wouldn't be used to this much legwork," Kai chuckled, planting his hands on his hips. "What a city slicker. So what's your name?"

"I'm Guilmon," the dinosaur chirped. "And you smell like Kai. You smell like water, only funnier."

"Well, I do swim a lot," Kai laughed, clapping his hands together. "Anyway, now that we buds now, how about we get this landlubber up to my place. It's only a short ways off."

Guilmon's bat wing-like ears rose up eagerly.

"And then…we can eat?"

Kai nodded and grinned.

"As much as you can stomach," he said, taking hold of the suitcase. Guilmon's claws joined him and together they began to push him up the road.


	73. Battle of Adventurers: Other Adventures

Takehito Uehara frowned as he looked at the latest code of the V-Pet. Something was wrong.

"Dad?" came a voice behind him. Blinking blearily, he turned to find his a young, brown-haired girl – his daughter, Minami – standing in the doorway of his study.

"Ah…yes sweetheart?" he asked.

"Dinner's ready," the girl said, entering the study. "Are you hungry?"

"Yeah," Takehito said, smiling a bit grimly. Reaching out, he patted Minami on the head. She was such a good girl, and it pained him that she went to such lengths to take care of him even though he was the adult; even more so as she did this on top of her training for her boogie board competitions.

_Although she hasn't been doing that as often,_ he remembered, that pain of regret making itself known once more in rapid succession. He had done his best to help her through the death of Mei, but he often felt that his gesture, as noble as it was, did little to nothing to be of aid.

"Dad, are you okay?" she asked, seeing the sorrowful expression in his eyes. Blinking, Takehito massaged his eyes.

"It's nothing," he promised, knowing that he was lying and that she would now it too. "Just…tired from work. I've been doing my part looking over the V-Pet code and…"

Seeing that pained look in Minami's eyes as well, he stopped talking and rubbed her head once more.

"Well…enough about work. Let's go have dinner."

That made Minami's smile returned, and he felt better for it. He wished he could do that for her more often. Taking her by the hand, they left his study together. Turning off the light, he took a final glance at the code still blazing on his computer and frowned slightly.

The suspicion that he had building in him for months was looking more and more to be true after all.

_I'm going to need Mei's help for this,_ he thought, tightening his grip on his daughter's hand before closing the door with a light click.

**###**

"I'm home!" Rika called as she walked along the porch to her home, the pastry from Takato's home bumping against her leg in its bag. She had already eaten a portion of it, and, with surprising effort, restrained herself from wolfing the whole thing down.

During her walk home, her thoughts distracted her with questions as to just how good _Takato_ was with baking sweets like that. She promptly ignored the notion, but it didn't stop it from setting roots in her mind.

"Welcome home," came the reply from her grandmother. "Did you have a good day?"

_It was…bizarre,_ Rika thought in her mind, remembering how Takato's father and then, within short order, his mother, began probing her for details regarding her relationship with Takato since she let it slip that she knew him. Her cheeks burned slightly at the memory, wanting to forget it entirely, and for the moment she put it out of her mind.

"Fine," she said with an annoyed sigh, her cell phone buzzing suddenly. Taking it out of her pocket, she checked the number, only to find that it was one she didn't recognize. Clicking the reply button curiously, she held it up to her ear.

"Hello?" she asked, only to receive an odd, mechanical clicking noise from the other end. She immediately shut it off, scowling at it.

_Either a creepy weirdo or one of those sales people are calling around again,_ she thought. A second later, her phone buzzed with a message. Her scowl deepening, she pressed it to see its contents.

_"It is time to seize your destiny,"_ the message read. _"Take the 5:45 Shibuya Outbound Train from Jiyuugaoka station."_

_Shibuya?_ Rika scoffed exiting the message. _Whoever it is, they must be nuts._

"Strange…" she heard her grandmother say as she entered the room where she sat, her computer in front of her.

"What is?" Rika asked, raising an eyebrow. The woman set her cell phone down on her desk and turned toward her.

"I just received a strange message saying that I should seize my destiny and take the 5:45 Shibuya Outbound Train at Jihuugaoka station."

"You too?" Rika's other eyebrow joined its twin. "That's…weird."

"Hmmm… I'll ask my friends to see if they got the same thing," Seiko said, returning to her message board, _Granny Chat,_ and quickly typed in a response. "It might be a new computer virus. You should probably check your phone just in case there was something in the message."

Rika made an annoyed face as she tugged out her phone again and quickly tapped her anti-virus app. Sure enough, she found nothing.

"Better to be safe than sorry," Seiko said after Rika reported the results. "You don't want to be stuck somewhere and can't call anyone, do you?"

"I guess not," Rika said. Seiko smiled and looked down at her bag.

"Did you get something nice while you were out?"

"Just a little something to eat," she said, and once more she felt the temptation to again take a bite out of the bakery. Raising it, she held it out to the older woman. "You want any? It's not bad."

"I'm fine, dear," Seiko replied before suddenly smiling. "Well… Just a little bit."

Taking out the pastry, Seiko nodded in appreciation at Rika's tastes and broke off a small piece, crushing the girl's hope that she would eat the whole thing so she herself wouldn't. Popping it into her mouth, Seiko made a pleased sound in the back of her throat, savoring the taste before swallowing.

"That was good. Where did you get that?"

"A bakery," Rika shrugged before listing off the address. "Seemed nice, so I figured I'd give it a look."

"I'll have to have a look then," she said. "I'm rather surprised that you… Oh!"

There came a ping from her computer, and Seiko pulled up her email. "I just got an email from your mother."

Rika felt her heart skip a beat as her gaze immediately went over to the computer screen. "What's it say?"

"That she's in Paris and she's coming back soon… Oh, look at that." Seiko laughed suddenly as a digital dog bounced around the message. Rika immediately recognized it as the V-Pet she saw in the advertisement earlier in the day. "These virtual pets are so cute!"

Rika frowned ever so slightly, not really caring either which way. It wasn't Renamon, or even remotely close to her. Renamon was all she needed. All she _wanted._

"Oh, and there's a picture!" Seiko continued, clicking on the attachment. At once a picture appeared of Seiko standing in front of the Eiffel Tower, giving a peace sign as she clutched the arm of a man close to her, looking as though she were giggling happily. Rika grimaced upon recognizing the man she was with, and by the looks of the expression on his face, he appeared to share the sentiment as herself.

Davis Motomiya.

_What's he doing there with her?_ she wondered as the V-Pet turned and began barking excitedly.

"We should get you one of these V-Pets for your phone," Seiko suggested. "It could be useful after all."

"I don't think so," she said, turning away, replacing the pastry box back in her bag. "I'm not interested."

"If you say so," Seiko conceded, returning her attention to the picture of Rumiko and Davis. "Doesn't your mother look right at home in Paris?"

Her response fell on empty space however as the girl had already vacated the room, the conversation having gone into a direction she didn't care to touch. She padded down the hall and soon entered her room, the golden glow of the sun casting shadows within.

_"Rika…"_

She drew to a halt at the voice and her violet eyes turned toward the darkness. Renamon materialized out of thin air, her ice-blue eyes looking grave.

"A digimon has appeared," she said. "A Nightmare Soldier."

Rika's gaze narrowed and she nodded. _A Nightmare Soldier!_ No doubt _finally_ making their move…whatever it was.

_They probably sent someone to take out Renamon._ Her hand curled into a tight fist. _They can try…_

"Then let's go get them," she declared eagerly.

**###**

Calumon flew through the air, bathing in the light of the steadily setting sun. It was a signal that the day was coming to an end and with it the end of play and exploration…for _people_ anyway. As far as Calumon was concerned, play and exploration never ended, but he felt the need to share it with _someone._

_Maybe Guilmon's nearby,_ he thought eagerly, extending his senses outward. Sure enough, he located the dinosaur digimon and began to fly in his direction, giggling up a storm the whole way.

**###**

Takato awoke to the sound of a stringed instrument being played, and with a groan he sat up, finding an old man seated a short ways away from him, playing a _shamisen._ His fingers, worn by time, played across the three strings with skill long earned by experience, not hurrying nor using more strength than necessary to play the tune. Folding his legs beneath him, he blinked blearily.

"Where am I?" he asked groggily.

"Kai brought you home," the old man answered, not turning to look at the boy, instead staring straight ahead. It took Takato a moment to remember who he was. Kai's grandfather, Wataro Urazoe.

He looked around the yard, taking note of the multitude of flowers – a vibrant red that straddled the border with purple – and he found his breath being taken away once more.

"Wow, this place is _beautiful,"_ he said in awe.

"Thank you," Wataro replied, pleased with the boy's compliment. Takato repressed a yawn, not wanting to appear insulting. It struck him that, more and more, this place was far more wonderful than his childhood memories told him.

_I wonder how much of that is because I was homesick and thought Kai was bullying me,_ he mused, recalling his conversation with Henry earlier.

The old man's plucking of the strings ended and he turned toward Takato.

"Do you feel better?" he asked.

"Yeah, I guess I really needed some sleep," Takato nodded.

"I'll say."

_"Grandpa!"_

At the sound of Kai's voice, Takato turned to find the tanned-skinned boy darting through the yard, a trident in one hand and an excited look on his face.

"I'm back!" he called out. Upon sighting Takato, his eyes lit up and his smile broadened.  
"Oh, hey! You're up!"

Takato raised a hand to return the greeting, but before he could say or do anything else, Guilmon suddenly appeared behind his cousin, waving a fish around in his claws.

"Guilmon!" Takato exclaimed as his eyes shot open wide. Panicking, he ran over to the digimon and planted himself directly between Kai and his partner, as if to both hide the digimon's already revealed presence and to prevent Kai from attacking him in self-defense.

"I _told_ you to stay in the suitcase!" he admonished, only to get a nudge from behind by the digimon's nose.

"But Kai's my _friend."_

"Huh?" Takato blinked, taken completely off guard by that. _Friend? Say wha…?_

"Yeah," Kai confirmed with a grin. "We had a great time playing around on the island."

"He caught me a fishy!" Guilmon chimed in helpfully, presenting his prize. Takato found himself relaxing a little, yet he remained guarded, waiting for the turnaround that his luck usually provided him.

"He did?" he asked carefully.

"That's one strange dog you have," said Kai's grandfather resuming the plucking of the strings on his shamisen.

"What are you talking about, grandpa?" Kai asked, looking at the old man with bewilderment. "This isn't a dog at all. It's a digimon. You remember? All those weird monsters that have been popping up around the world since the '90's? The one there was a big war with? Don't you get it?"

Kai turned to Takato and chuckled, pumping his fist into the air. "Man, you are _so_ lucky! We don't have _any_ digimon up here, but I guess that's Tokyo for you!"

"Uh…Well…" Takato glanced at Guilmon as his partner devoured his fish-treat whole. "The city isn't exactly crawling with them."

_Though some sure like to show up every now and then to bust up the place,_ he mused.

"Nonsense, Kai," Wataru replied to his grandson. "There are dogs everywhere, even on Okinawa."

"Grandpa, that's not a dog, it's a _digimon!"_ Kai insisted, running up to the old man. "Have you ever seen a talking dog?"

"Talking dogs aren't unusual in the slightest," Wataru said, unfazed as he cracked an eye open to look at his grandson. "Ever since long ago, this land has had beings like the protective deity Siesa and Kijimuna fairies. A talking dog isn't new at all."

Loud laughter broke across the air and looking up, Takato found Calumon dropping in from the sky and right in front of Guilmon.

"Let's play!" he exclaimed to the dinosaur digimon before abruptly darting away. Without so much as a second thought, he answered the call of play and chased after the tiny creampuff of a digimon, laughing up a storm as he did so, leaving Takato, Kai and Wataru to stare after the pair for a moment before Kai glanced back at his grandfather, grinning triumphantly.

"How do you explain that, grandpa?" he chided. "Do we have flying dogs too?"

Wataru had a perturbed look on his face as he watched the two digimon take off before finally getting up and heading inside the house. "I think I'm going to go make dinner now."

Chuckling, Kai leaned closer to Takato. "Grandpa probably thinks it really is a flying dog!"

_"Kai!"_ called Wataru from the interior of the house. _"Go wash your hands!"_

Kai sighed and began to head off, leaving Takato alone with the digimon. "Okay, I'll do it right now."

Following the pair over to the beach behind the house, Takato sat himself down, watching Calumon as he landed on Guilmon's nose, only to be flipped up into the air by a quick jerk of his head. Sitting himself down, the goggle-wearing boy let out a heavy sigh.

"Man, it sure has been a long day," he said quietly, losing himself in the orange, glowing fire that blazed along the surface of the ocean water as the sun finally touched down behind the horizon.

_I hope everything's fine back home…_

**###**

_"When asked_ why _an electrical discharge looked like a giant_ dragon, _the city spokesman said that this is what electrical discharges do!"_

The screen shut off and Takeru turned toward the screen next to it, displaying a dark-haired man wearing a suit and sunglasses; the Chief Cabinet Secretary. He did not look pleased.

No more than Takeru Takaishi did as he flicked his lighter closed with a loud _click._

_"Explain,"_ the Chief Cabinet Secretary said, his tone even, but firm, as though he were barely restraining himself from losing his cool right now.

"There was clearly some kind of confrontation in the digital world and it's centered around the Shibuya area," Takeru said, flicking his lighter open. "We're pinpointing the source of the conflict now, but that's proving to be difficult at the moment. There's a massive distortion in the flow of the space time continuum in the digital world, causing it to be out of sync with our world, much like the Apocalymon incident back in 1999. However, the effect appears to be more localized rather than global…perhaps in one of the sub-worlds."

_"How did it break through the firewall?"_ the Chief Cabinet Secretary demanded heatedly. _"An attack of this level is unprecedented since the war!"_

"The firewall was never said to be impenetrable," Takeru reminded. "A digimon with sufficient power can breach it. We've analyzed the digimon that breached the barrier, and our sensors indicate that it is far beyond that of even many Mega-level digimon. Perhaps on par with Super Ultimate…"

_"Super Ultimate…"_ The Chief Cabinet Secretary shook his head in astonishment and horror. With good reason. The level was only witnessed once during the war, and until then had been considered impossible by Gennai. _"Takaishi… I am going to be speaking with the Prime Minister with regards to this incident."_ A pause. _"I don't intend to give him advise that suggests we ignore this."_

Takeru flicked his lighter closed at that, and he frowned beneath his sunglasses.

"Understood," he replied, and with that the Chief Cabinet Secretary's screen went dark, leaving him alone in his office.

He _tsked_ irritably.

"The fool…" he cursed under his breath.

**###**

Sneaking into an oil plant would normally be difficult, but with Renamon on the job, breaking in could never be easier. The same, unfortunately, held true for Ken, thanks to his partner, Stingmon, as she found upon his spotting her as they flew in.

"Great," she greeted upon his landing. _"You're_ here."

"Nice to see you," Ken nodded to her and Renamon as he hopped out of Stingmon's arms. "I take it you two are here for the digimon?"

"No, we're here for the _other_ digimon," Rika said sarcastically. Ken sighed. He didn't need this. Between this and the Shibuya incident, there seemed to be no end to the problems that appeared to be steadily mounting on his plate.

"The government is going to be arriving here soon, so we need to find and keep the digimon from causing as much damage as possible," he said. "They want it alive if possible."

"It's a Nightmare Soldier," Renamon supplied. "It is highly unlikely that it will allow itself to be taken alive, or even have anything of value to us."

Ken raised an eyebrow at her. "How do you know it's a Nightmare Soldier?"

"I am familiar with many of the digimon that operated within its ranks," she replied, turning her gaze toward the oil plant. "This one I believe is a Pteramon. A low rank soldier. It is unlikely he will have know more about what the Nightmare Soldiers have planned. I didn't and I was higher up the chain compared to him."

"I see," Ken said with a slight frown. :All the same, we should try to take it alive. Do what you can, all right?"

Renamon glanced at Rika, who could only scowl. Ken followed the vulpine's gaze, giving the girl a stern look.

"No promises," Rika replied, meeting his gaze levelly. "Pteramon's has a lot of firepower for an Armor, but a weak defense. It's a glass canon just waiting to shatter."

As if to prove her point about the firepower, there came a series of massive explosions from within the complex, lighting the oil plant up with a flash of red fire. Rika gasped in surprise, throwing an arm across her face to shield her eyes.

"It appears that it's time," Stingmon said, his wings unsheathing themselves from behind his back. With nothing more to be said, he and Renamon took to the air and dove toward the source of the explosions, their senses quickly zeroing in on it.

Pteramon emerged from the fire, jet-fighter like wings unfolding from its sides. Renamon launched herself toward the Armor, dodging an incoming missile fired from beneath its wings.

_"Renamon!"_ she heard the Pteramon shout, and within short order _more_ missiles quickly followed, and Renamon found herself straining to dodge the incoming attacks as they homed in on her. More explosions rang throughout the air, causing Renamon to narrow her eyes. This was not good. Unless she missed her guess, if this battle was allowed to continue at this level of intensity, there stood a high chance of the entire oil plant going up, killing everyone, including Ken and Rika.

_"Spiking Strike!"_ shouted Stingmon, suddenly surging past the vulpine digimon, only to have another salvo of missiles slam into him at full force, sending him careening to the ground below, smacking hard into an oil tank, causing it to crack open and spill the viscous dark fluid all over the humanoid insect. His wings hung limply as fire burned all around him.

Pteramon drew near, rearming itself, and took aim.

_That thing is going to kill him!_ Rika's mind shouted as a modify card found itself in her hand. She glanced at it quickly before slashing it through her digivice. Sparks flew and a dual-bladed battle axe – courtesy of the Tomahawk card – appeared in Renamon's hand as she leapt toward Pteramon. She swept the axe around in a smooth arc, bisecting an incoming missile in two before raising it above her head and hurling it at their opponent. The Pteramon flew forward as it reloaded its weapons, its sights set on the vulpine digimon.

"You will be deleted this time, _traitor…"_ he began, only for the axe to slam into him with sudden, jolting force. The axe shattered upon impact, but it still did its job. A spider web of cracks splintered along the length of its chest armor.

_It won't stop him,_ Renamon thought, no less aware than Rika about what could happen if its attack caused it to detonate the oil facility. Crossing her arms together, a sphere of white light materialized in front of her. Slashing her arms to the side, she caused the sphere to break apart, revealing a multitude of razor sharp, white diamonds.

_"Diamond Storm!"_ she shouted, and the punishing rain of destruction fell upon their target. Pteramon screamed as his body was cut to ribbons and then…silence as he burst into shards of data beyond count. Renamon landed back on the ground, watching the data float harmlessly in the air for a moment before narrowing her eyes. Jumping back up, a soft glow surrounded her body and the data began to be drawn into her. Renamon felt Pteramon's data fuse into her, and she saw fleeting images flash through her mind… Images of the Nightmare Soldiers she knew from before, and…something more… Something involving a barking dog, but it was gone almost immediately before she could fully grasp it for what it was.

"I thought you were _done_ loading digimon," Ken said, his tone tense as he and Rika ran toward her. The vulpine digimon turned toward him.

"I don't need it anymore," she replied, and she meant it. "But… We were forced to destroy the Pteramon. I wasn't sure, but perhaps your Digidestined friend – the one who works for the government – might be able to do something as long as he has the data available."

"I don't think it works that way," Ken sighed, massaging his forehead. "Look… We've got to get out of here…"

"A moment first," Renamon said, causing Rika to raise an eyebrow. "There was something different about that digimon. I saw…something as I loaded it."

"What do you mean?" Rika asked, approaching her. Renamon narrowed her eyes, trying to recall everything she saw.

_Something… A dog barking… But why?_

"I don't know," Renamon said finally. "Something strange. We'd better stay on our toes."


	74. Battle of Adventurers: The Rising Wave

_Takuya Kanbara… Koji Minamoto… Junpei Shibayama… Zoe Orimoto… Koichi Kimura… Tomoki Himi…_

Takeru leaned back in his seat, flicking his lighter first open and then closed, the profiles of the six children staring at him. Across his desk stood Yolei. She should have been at her post, but he allowed her presence; _requested_ it even. She was a Digidestined. He felt that, at the very least, she deserved to know about this.

"Do we have any details about what happened?" Yolei asked, taking up the profile of the youngest child, Tomoki Himi and gazing at it with concern.

"The interviews are over. The reports are being finalized." Another click as the lighter flicked open. "It appears that Lucemon and the two corrupted Royal Knights broke free from their prison. Lucemon even managed to corrupt one of the Celestial digimon, Cherubimon. That seems to have kicked off the conflict."

"Kami…" Yolei whispered.

"What's more, it appears that this happened over an _extremely_ short period of time, suggesting that an intense spatial warp occurred."

This caused Yolei's eyes to snap to attention.

"A _spatial_ warp…" They had been detecting unusual fluctuations in the structure of the digital world, but at first she thought it had been the result of the massive digimon – the evolved form of Lucemon – that tore through the firewall. "I don't understand. There was no detection of such a high class of digimon. Not even Lucemon displayed those characteristics from what we could see."

"There may be something more going on in one of the deeper layers of the digital world than what we're aware of," Takeru said, flicking his lighter closed. "I want you and Tally to deepen the scan. See what you can dig up."

"Is…that a good idea, sir?" Yolei asked with concern. "The treaty places serious restrictions on how deep we can scan the digital world."

He flicked his lighter open, frowning beneath his sunglasses. "The Celestial kingdom has been damaged. The three remain, but reduced in power, leaving the relations between the human and beast digimon in that sub-world in a precarious position. Additionally, a Demon Lord has broken free from its prison. We need to know the condition of the others. If any of them are in the process of escaping or have already escaped…"

"Can we contact Gennai or Ryo?" Yolei asked. Takeru grimaced and flicked his lighter closed with a particularly loud snap, causing Yolei to jump slightly.

"I see…" she said quietly. "At the very least, we should contact the Sovereign digimon and explain to them the situation. Maybe they'll be willing to give us some leeway around the treaty. If there's a threat to the digital world, they might even want to help us."

"There's not much of a chance of that and you know it," Takeru replied. "Azulongmon would speak for us, but he's too much of the 'hands off' sort when it comes to governing his realm. He is no less difficult to contact without Gennai." He sighed. "Try anyway, if you think you can do it. But I want some information to go off that I can present to the Chief of Cabinet. Start with the Celestial Kingdom and work your way from here. Scan as deep as you can."

"Yes sir," Yolei nodded.

**###**

"We're too late," Izzy said as they came to a halt in the middle of the field of electrical circuits, a violet _wound_ hovering in the air before them. Behind Tai, Matt swore under his breath, his fist shaking. Both he and Izzy could understand his frustration. Just yesterday – as registered by the clocks on their digivices – there had been a _massive_ battle between two, high-level digimon. Neither of them they recognized, though one of them, a small, humanoid figure, had a familiar, Omnimon-type motif about him. The force behind the battle had been so powerful that the air had warped around them, preventing them from even trying to get close. Hours had passed since then, and space and time finally settling down – _especially_ time, as they found that for a brief period their perception of it had jumped around considerably, with mere seconds actually being hours.

"So we can't use this to get back?" Tai asked, stepping closer to the glowing field in front of them.

"It would appear to be the case," Izzy nodded. "I recognize the digital scaffolding from my work with Hypnos. This is a rapid healing of the dimensional barriers. This is like putting up a scab. Nothing gets in or out. Well…unless you're powerful enough to break through."

"Which we are," Tai said in a suggestive tone, to which Izzy shook his head.

"Bad idea. The breach risks becoming a permanent aperture and even in the event that it doesn't, it will become a scar, and that poses all kinds of problems. Easier to penetrate for example. If it were healing normally on its own, it wouldn't be an issue as the energy stresses are lower, but this is…much faster."

"That doesn't sound like a good idea," Tai said. "Why are you repairing the barriers like this?"

"Once the repairs are done, the barriers stabilize and it's like it was never there to begin with. Well…except for a minor heat signature, but that disappears after a while. The whole point of using it is to fix serious damage like what we saw on our way here as quickly as possible so that the worlds don't risk overlapping each other and merging. Smaller breaches are just monitored and kept clear until they heal on their own."

"So what do we do now?" Gabumon asked from next to Matt. "If we can't use this breach…"

"We keep going up," Matt cut in, patting his partner's head. "That's how it works, right?"

"Pretty much," Izzy nodded. "The closer we get to Earth, the easier it'll be to make a portal of our own. Speaking of which…"

Opening up his laptop, he smiled in delight upon seeing that it worked.

_"Izzy!"_ came the cry of glee from Tentomon. _"The interference has cleared up!"_

"Great to see you back in action, old pal," Izzy beamed, touching the case of his laptop affectionately – the most he could do with his disembodied partner nowadays – before his expression became firm. "I hate to cut this short, but I have a favor to ask."

_"I'm your mon, like always,"_ Tentomon replied, bobbing his insectoid head up and down.

Izzy turned to Agumon and Gabumon. "I need you two to DNA digivolve first," he said, angling Tentomon at them. Matt and Tai looked at each other before producing their digivices.

"Are you all right for this, Gabumon?" Matt asked, to which the wolf digimon nodded.

"I'm well rested now. It's more Agumon that I'm worried about."

"I'm all set if you are," the reptile grinned before looking up at his partner. "Tai?"

"Okay," the man said, raising his digivice higher. Matt followed suit, and a glow emerged from their digivices' screens. Shells of data materialized around the two Rookies and their forms grew before merging together.

_"Agumon!"_

_"Gabumon!"_

_"Warp DNA Digivolve tooo…Omnimon!"_

Wind blew over the three humans as the massive data shell shattered and an armored figure rose onto his feet, cape billowing behind him.

"Okay," Izzy nodded. "I'm going to need you to extend the Grey Sword."

"Got it," Omnimon nodded, raising the arm that held WarGreymon's head at the end of his wrist. With a flash of sparks, a massive, straight blade erupted from the head's mouth, and he lowered it for Izzy's inspection. "What's next?"

"Okay… Tentomon. Measure the length of the sword and narrowness of the blade. Then calculate the minimum energy requirements needed for a narrow beam blade attack for multiple types of dimensional barrier weak points."

On the screen, a raindrop emoji materialized on Tentomon's face, indicating his shock.

_"You're not asking for anything easy you realize,"_ the insect Rookie replied. _"I'm just working off your laptop. I don't have any connection to our servers back home."_

"We have a ways to go still," Izzy said, looking up at the digital representation of the Earth above them. "You'll have plenty of time, but…try to hurry."

Tentomon sighed.

_"Right. Because the fate of the world and everything."_

There came the sound of cracking knuckles, surprising Tai as the Rookie had none to crack, before his image disappeared.

"He's going into computer dark mode," Izzy explained as the monitor turned off. "He needs as much computing power as he can now that he has the measurements of Omnimon's weapon."

"Hopefully he'll be ready," Matt frowned. "So what now?"

"Easy," Tai said, tapping Omnimon's leg. "We have ourselves a taxi. Let's take advantage of it while the form holds."

Kneeling down, Omnimon gingerly helped the humans to climb onto his shoulders. Once he was certain that they were secured, he looked skyward and leapt into the air, leaving the lower layer behind and climbing for the next.

**###**

The warm sun beat down on Takato as he sat at the beach, munching on a piece of octopus tentacle from a catch Kai had speared. They were all sitting around the smoky remains of a fire, more pieces of octopus tentacle sizzling over it, stakes pierced through them to keep them from getting burned more than was necessary.

Takato admittedly was not sure what to make of eating octopus. At least not at first. The killing of it by his cousin made him stop and think as he realized, perhaps for the first time ever, that the meat that his mother put on his plate once belonged to a living animal that had concerns and feelings all of its own.

He wondered about that, in light of his conversations with Rika in the past about her killing other digimon. Was it as wrong as he thought?

_Digimon deleting and loading other digimon to get stronger,_ he thought, taking another bite from the tentacle. _It's not too different from eating, right?_

He looked down at the tentacle thoughtfully before Kai nudged him with an elbow.

"Hey, your food will get cold if you keep spacing out like that," the boy grinned. Takato gave him a small smile in return.

"Sorry," he replied. "I was just thinking."

Kai arched an eyebrow. "Anything in particular?"

"No… Not really," Takato said, not wanting to ruin the meal. The food _was_ good after all and he felt it would be rude to the animal to waste it. He looked over at Guilmon, who tore into the meal with happy abandon. Kai, who followed Takato's gaze, grinned at the sight.

"Man," said Kai. "Guilmon really likes seafood."

"Of course he likes it," replied Takato with a smile. "It's food."

Swallowing, he turned and looked out in the direction of the water.

"You know, I forgot this place was so awesome," he said, finding himself lost in the crystalline majesty of the waves.

"Oh yeah!" Kai agreed, though not without a little bias on his part. "It's the best place in the whole world." He took the last bite of his tentacle. "I'm going to be a fisherman when I grow up."

Takato's eyebrows rose at this. "A fisherman? Really?"

"Oh yeah, it's an awesome job," Kai said, picking up a small can full of water that he had next to him. Getting up, he poured its contents over the remains of the fire to kill it. Steam erupted from the ashes, giving Takato's face a full blast of it. "You get to spend all day outside, cruising around… Plus it's what my family's always done." He looked up at Takato as the boy retreated from the rising steam. "You're going to take over the bakery, right?"

Takato paused and looked at his cousin in surprise. "Huh? Oh. I never really thought about it."

Looking away, he gazed out over the horizon. Now that the idea was planted in his mind, what _was_ he going to do when he became an adult? He couldn't play the card game forever or goof around with Guilmon every day, no matter how much he would like to. He was going to have to get a job to make money, especially if he were to support Guilmon's voracious eating habits.

_Come to think of it… What's Guilmon going to do? The way I've been treating him so far has been…kind of like a pet. Doesn't he deserve better than that?_

Takato was cast out of his thoughts as he spied something unusual on the horizon. Some kind of disturbance in the water that caused it to spray outward.

"What is that?" he said aloud. _A boat?_ he wondered as it drew nearer, curious about its speed. Its course was rather erratic too, swerving from side to side. Calumon drew up beside him at head level as Guilmon and Kai came up beside him.

"It's sure moving fast," Calumon said, echoing Takato's earlier thoughts.

"I'll say," Takato said. "Something's not right."

As if on cue, Guilmon's eyes dilated and he crouched down, growling suddenly. Takato's alarm bells only rang louder, recognizing the reaction for what it was.

_A digimon must be nearby!_

The boat jumped off the water and into the air briefly before crashing back down, the force nearly knocking its owner off in the process.

Directly behind her, a blue, shark-like monster wearing armor and a metal blade on its back rose up from the waves before diving back in. There came a loud roar and Kai gasped from behind Takato.

"A digimon!" he exclaimed before rushing off in the direction of their boat. Takato and Guilmon quickly followed after him and within short order Kai got the motor running and they surged toward the scene ahead.

Takato pulled out his cards from his pack, fanning through them for something that would be useful. His combat deck – as he termed it – had thinned out considerably since Rika's training with him began, and his reflexes had also grown faster under her tutelage. However, he hadn't had a chance in quite some time to put the training into practice under real battle conditions.

_No time like the present,_ he thought a bit nervously before looking at his partner. "Are you ready, boy?"

"M-hm!" Guilmon nodded aggressively, his eyes focused on the digimon as it rose up from the waves again. The girl – they could see the driver more easily now – managed to stay far ahead of the digimon, but as they drew near it finally managed to slip underneath and upset her speedboat. Crying out in terror, the girl was thrown into the air where she promptly fell into the water with a heavy splash. Kai dove in after her, taking barely a moment to put their boat into break, and disappeared beneath the waves. Guilmon quickly followed behind, a quick slash of a speed and power card to give him a chance against their opponent. Takato didn't know what digimon it was – having only gotten a glimpse of it – but the size suggested at least a Champion level, or an Armor.

_An Armor probably,_ he thought, remembering the bits of armor protecting its body. _It might be a Tylomon._ He grimaced, hoping that the potential Vaccine attribute didn't give Guilmon too much trouble. Raising his digivice, a holographic circle rose up, giving him a view through his partner's eyes. He swam quickly after Kai. There was suddenly a rush of frothing water as the digimon – most assuredly the Tylomon that Takato suspected it to be – surged in the direction of Kai and the girl who sank toward the bottom. Guilmon reared up and kicked with his feet, the power of the speed card giving him all the push he needed to slam into the Tylomon, attempting to wrestle it down. The digimon twisted ferociously, trying to dislodge the reptile, but Guilmon held firm…for a moment before finally being shaken free. The two circled each other now and Takato caught sight of Kai swimming away, gaining some distance with the girl in his arms, aiming for the surface. The last thing Takato saw before breaking away was Guilmon shattering the blade on Tylomon's back before firing a _Pyro Sphere_ at him, point blank range.

"Kai!" he called out, seeing his cousin breach, gasping for breath. Seeing him, Kai swam over and hoisted the strange girl up. Taking her by the arms, Takato helped her into the boat and Kai climbed back in shortly after. No sooner were they both falling in, the sea swelled and then _burst_ with explosive force, pushing their boat off.

"Is that thing gone yet?" Kai exclaimed while Takato felt a rush of fear in his heart.

"Where's Guilmon?" he shouted, leaning forward. "Guilmon!"

The sea began to calm down, but of his partner there was no sign. Takato felt an overwhelming wave of despair wash over him, his courage wavering.

"Guilmon, no…" he whispered fearfully, only to have his worries dashed as Guilmon splashed up from below the waves, laughing happily in victory. A relieved smile broke across Takato's face and he whooped in return.

As Guilmon swam over to them, Takato turned back to Kai and they looked down at the unconscious girl they had just rescued.

"That digimon was after her, wasn't it?" Kai asked after a moment as he checked to make sure she was still breathing. Fortunately her chest rose and fell with ease, making the boy let out a sigh of relief.

"It sure looked that way," Takato replied, helping Guilmon climb back into the boat – and nearly falling into the drink in the process. Grunting, he and Guilmon collapsed into a heap together. Untangling themselves, Takato sat up. "Let's get back to shore. We can't do much for her all the way out here."

Kai nodded and threw the boat out of park, and together they raced back toward home.


	75. Battle of Adventurers: Ruins of Pasts

Ryuuji Tamashiro chewed at his fingernail, a wave of anger burning in his heart as he looked at a holographic orb floating in the air before him, replaying the scene from one of his Nightmare Soldiers – Tylomon – did battle with an all too familiar crimson-scaled digimon with a hazard sign emblazoned on its chest. There was a flash of crimson light and then…nothing.

Turning to his computer, he tapped his keyboard and brought up satellite surveillance footage, scowling as he spied the boat escaping the scene of battle with its five occupants.

_It's no coincidence,_ he thought. _I'm sure of that now. The Tamer knew where to be and what to expect. But…how?_

He scowled and changed monitors, this time displaying a dark-haired man wearing a tie and a button-up shirt. In a way, he had to thank the Tamer for appearing when he did at the airport, as the incident had made him decide it was worth double checking security just to be on the safe side.

His fears had been confirmed all too readily. Someone, in this case one of his head programmers, Takehito Uehara, had not only found something in the V-Pet code, but had managed to make a program in secret.

It all started innocently enough with a now deleted email discussing what he described as a 'worrying issue' in the V-Pet algorithm he found, comparing it to a virus capable of causing widespread devastation if a hacker or virus digimon were able to gain access to it, particularly if the V-Pet went global as intended. Ryuuji grimaced, remembering how at the airport, the comparison had been made, finding similarities to Diaboromon's data. How close were people to actually seeing it? He and his predecessor, Apocalymon, had worked behind the scenes, gaining access to multiple, highly influential individuals in the media, corporate, and the government to distort any hope of discussion. He even employed primitive, by his standards, AI to further the cause.

He even fostered some of the conspiracies around the V-Pet as well. Truth, he knew, worked well as a means to make people believe lies.

Now, however, it appeared that Takehito finally saw through it all, for his discussions regarding the topic of the algorithm ended abruptly and there came a sudden increase in activity on his home computer, and then activity on the computer of his daughter – where the original V-Pet resided.

Ryuuji seethed and his fingernails clacked on the surface of his desk, elongating slightly.

_I'm going to have to try again with the girl later, when everyone's asleep and their guard is down. Takeshito on the other hand…_

The orb floating before him changed, revealing a digimon wearing a red cloak over a green shirt; a blue, beast-like mask with great golden horns towering over a red, metal, metal mane like a crown; a large mouth with fangs and tusks clenched together. _Baromon._

"I have a job for you," he began, to which the digimon chortled eagerly.

_"Happy to obey,"_ he replied.

**###**

Takato and Kai ran into the house at record speed, Kai not in the least bit bothered carrying the mysterious girl they rescued at full speed and running uphill, being in excellent shape due to his livelihood.

_"Grampa!"_ he called out, coming to a halt in the middle of the porch where the man usually spent his time. He looked around frantically, not seeing him.

"Oh, that's right," he said, clenching his teeth together. "Grandpa's out fishing! Takato, can you get a towl?"

"Yeah," Takato replied with a bob of his head before quickly rushing off to the bathroom. Behind him, Kai set the strange girl down on the floor as gently as he could and laid her out, trying to make her comfortable. Not wasting time, he rushed over to the guest room where Takato slept and dragged out the spare futon, the two boys arriving simultaneously.

"Help me with her," Kai said, laying the futon out before taking hold of the girl by the shoulders. Taking her legs, the boys gently lifted her and set her down on the much softer blankets before doing a quick wipe down with the towel to dry her off. Sitting back, they both looked at each other with concern before Kai got up and started back toward the outside.

"I'd better go get Grandpa," he said hurriedly, causing Takato to panic a little, unsure as to what to do.

"Don't just leave me here!" he exclaimed. He had no idea what to do if the girl's condition took a turn for the worst. She _was_ unconscious after all, and who knew what other injuries she took from that fall…or just from the chase by the digimon. There were so many unknowns here!

_"I'll be back as soon as I find him!"_ Kai called over his shoulder, paying the boy no mind, and within short order he was gone, leaving the distraught Takato alone with the girl, Guilmon and Calumon.

"Ah nuts," Takato groaned, scratching at the side of his face. _Hopefully nothing happens to her, otherwise I'd probably end up making things_ worse _trying to help her. At least she's breathing okay._ He sighed. _Wish I knew something about her so that when she wakes up, she… Oh!_

Remembering that he was carrying a backpack they took off her, he slid it off. He pondered it for a moment before the soft moaning of the girl brought his attention back to her. Taking a washcloth, he dabbed at her forehead, his expression softening. She was still a bit cold and clammy to the touch, but otherwise didn't seem to be doing too bad.

_Hopefully all she needs is to dry out and sleep,_ he thought, drawing back.

"You're going to be okay," he whispered gently, before adding, "I hope."

Guilmon crawled over to him.

"Can I help?" he asked.

"I don't know," Takato replied. "Hold tight for now."

"'Kay," Guilmon nodded, if regretfully. The two of them _wanted_ to do more, but not knowing enough about how to help people who were potentially injured, helping struck them as being the worst thing they could do for the moment.

Takato looked back at the bag. Thinking on it for a second more, he decided that, given the circumstances, it would be better to ask for forgiveness later.

"Hey, maybe I can find out her name or phone number or something. There's got to be something in here."

Unzipping the bag, he pulled out an object wrapped tightly in plastic. "Oh! It's a computer!"

It looked a little old in design, but then retro-appearances were becoming something of a thing nowadays; a kind of yearning for what some people saw as simpler times, although why anyone would want to lug around something as big as a laptop when the D-Pads were so much easier to carry.

Not that Takato could say with any certainty, as he lacked both, but one looked more practical than the other.

Opening it, he hit the power button, only for Calumon to suddenly go galloping over the keyboard with loud laughter, followed by Guilmon chasing after him.

"Not _now,_ Calumon!" the Rookie complained before tripping over a claw and nearly crashing on the laptop. Takato, with his newborn reflexes, managed to save the machine before anything untoward could happen to it and looked at the two digimon scornfully, more so at Calumon, who didn't understand what the word 'no' meant it seemed.

Turning back toward the computer, his eyebrows rose as a screen appeared upon its completion of booting up and a cream-furred dog barked at him happily.

"Hey! It's a V-Pet!"

**###**

Suzie gave a loud groan of annoyance as she threw herself back in Henry's chair and puffed her cheeks out. On the computer screen, the cream-furred dog barked incessantly, dancing about the screen of a math education program. On the display, a multiplication problem sat before her, two numbers blotted out by flower designs. With each prance along the flowers, a number was revealed until the whole of the problem stood before her.

Suzie hated it. She didn't like doing homework over the summer – summers were for _fun_ after all – but the V-Pet just seemed _bent_ on doing everything for her before she even got a chance!

She'd never be a big, strong, pretty princess if the V-Pet did all her work for her. Her mother said so. Her father said so. Henry said so as well, and if they all said so – the smartest people she knew – then she should do the same.

Still…

"That V-Pet is _so_ annoying!"

Dragging a hand across her face, she glowered at the digital creature, still barking over…and over…and over.

Placing her feet on the edges of the desk, she pushed away forcefully and spun around, continuing to glare at the V-Pet all the while.

"That's it!" she grumbled. "You _stink!"_

Hopping up onto her brother's bed, she planted her face into the mattress and rolled over, huffing in frustration.

"I can't _believe_ Henwy is gone for the whole summer and he didn't even leave Tewwiewmon for me to play with."

Digimon… She loved digimon. She heard so many bad things about them from the news, but no matter what she couldn't help but love them. Terriermon was just so…so… _fluffy!_ And adorable!

_I wish I could become a Tamew like Henwy,_ she thought miserably before looking back in the direction of the computer, where the V-Pet continued to bark in its annoying, high-pitched voice. She sighed and sat back up.

As much as she hated to admit it, she couldn't just leave the V-Pet be. Digimon were also living creatures on a computer screen as, after all, Terriermon emerged from this very computer. Didn't that mean it was alive? Either way, she knew she wouldn't ever be a good Tamer if she only took care of those digital creatures she liked and left the rest to suffer.

"Okay, I'll feed you," she said in a frustrated tone. Narrowing her eyes as the V-Pet danced on the screen, happy to see her, she _harrumphed._

"But you're _still_ annoying!"

**###**

Henry swung off the goggles to his scuba gear and tossed his head, sending a spray of water shining through the air. Running a hand across his face, he looked back out over the ocean and smiled.

"Wow! Those ruins were amazing!"

"Eh," Terriermon shrugged from down by his feet. "You've seen one rock, you've seen them all. I still think it's weird that all the brochures are selling it as the 'birthplace of digimon'. Is this for real?"

"Maybe, and maybe not," Henry laughed. "We're still trying to figure out a lot about how the digital world came into being. The anthropology professor, Haruhiko Takenouchi…"

"Yeah, yeah," Terriermon interrupted. "The Kyoto incident guy who's the dad of Sora." He giggled. "I've heard about all the spirit stuff before, Henry."

"Tsukumogami," Henry corrected. "He thinks digimon are evolved forms of Tsukumogami."

"Same difference," Terriermon chuckled. "I doubt it's actually the case though. Tsukumogami have to be a hundred years old, right?"

"Not unless we count the time people spend on the Internet collectively," Henry chuckled. "That's older than some civilizations, and if we factor in how the spatial distortion impacts perceptions of time and focused attention and belief…"

"…you end up creating something like Omnimon," Terriermon cut in. "What?" he asked, seeing the surprised look on Henry's face. "I pay attention. Sometimes. Besides, we also have Guilmon running around, and he was born from Takato's imagination. But he didn't do that in a hundred years."

The half-Chinese Tamer frowned slightly, but for once chose not to berate his partner for poking holes in the 'Kyoto Genesis' hypothesis.

"Anyway," he said, lifting his camera. "I think I took every photograph I possibly could. This will definitely help me with my own research."

"I thought we were supposed to be on vacation."

"It's in preparation for when we're done with it."

"Sheesh…" Terriermon planted his tiny paws on his roundish hips. "You're going to need a vacation from your vacation."

"Terriermon…"

"What? Momentai!" He leaned forward on the seat, dark eyes sparkling in the day sun. "So! What are we going to do tomorrow?"

"Hmmm…" Henry looked skyward, smiling at the question. He really didn't have anything planned, and investigating the ruins had been his primary agenda.

"I don't know…" he confessed, having realized that, for once, he hadn't thought this far ahead.

Clasping his tiny fingers together excitedly, Terriermon beamed at his partner.

"We could go see Takato and Guilmon," he offered.

Henry nodded and laughed. "That's a good idea."

"Well of _course_ it is!" Terriermon said proudly. "It's _my_ idea!"

Henry laughed and patted him on the head.

"Don't let it go to your head," he chuckled.

**###**

_Minami lay on the board, struggling against the waves as they crashed against her, threatening to upset her balance and hurl her into the abyss. In the back of her mind, she envisioned that this must be what the Dark Ocean to be like from all the histories of the War; a merciless storm smashing against the shoreline, drowning out all hope of ever reaching it. Not that she cared about the digital world, but the image stuck with her and now here she was, battling that ancient fear of darkness that plagued humanity since time unmemorable._

_Finally, her board curved against the wave and she was finally tossed into the ice-cold depths, losing her board in the process. She did not worry however. Her swimsuit was water tight and she kept her swimfins as well. Having managed to catch a good breath – her training running so deep that she would have to_ really _be taken by surprise to not get one – she quickly reoriented herself, following the bubbles escaping from her mouth until she broke through the surface. She gasped for air and for a moment the water stilled just enough to give her a respite._

_A respite that is, so that she may hear the barking._

"Mei!"

Sitting up suddenly, Minami gasped for air, a cold chill running down her back in spite of the warm air. Taking a moment to catch her breath, she curled her fingers against the hardwood surface below…

_Wait… Wood? Why is there wood?_

She realized that the sound of surf was quiet and far away now, and there was a less concentrated scent of salt water in the air. She was in a house, by the looks of things. More accurately on a porch. Looking up in confusion, she found herself staring into the gold-colored eyes of a red-scaled dinosaur with bat-wings for ears.

They looked at each other for but a moment before Minami gave a half-cry and began to scramble backward.

"It's okay!" exclaimed a goggle-wearing boy as he suddenly appeared next to the dinosaur and wrapped his arms around him, making as if to hold him back. "He's not dangerous, I promise!"

"A…digimon…" Minami whispered before the gentle arms of an elderly man settled on her shoulders to calm her.

"He may look strange," he soothed with a smile. "But don't worry. He really is just a dog like any other."

"Ah…" The boy's mouth quirked, as if in agitation, and the dinosaur looked at him.

"I look strange?" he asked in a voice that sounded positively childish. The boy looked away and grinned evasively.

"Well…" he said simply as Minami began to relax.

"Have some tea, it will calm you down," the old man said, offering her a small, steaming cup. Accepting it gratefully, Minami offered him her thanks with a small nod, starting to put the pieces together. The last thing she remembered was being chased by a digimon out on the open water, but here she was now on dry land, safe and sound.

"I'm taking off now!" rang the voice of a woman, exiting the house with heavy footsteps. The old man waved at her.

"Thanks again!" he called before returning his attention to Minami. "Our neighbor let you borrow some of your daughter's clothes since you were soaked."

"Thanks," she whispered, turning toward the boy – correction, _boys,_ as a new one entered the room. "For everything. My name's Minami."

"Hey, wait," began the darker-skinned boy as he knelt down and smiled at her. "I remember you! Didn't you win that boogie board contest?"

Minami's expression fell a little at the acknowledgement. "Oh…yeah…"

Kai, sensing the mood, tilted his head at her. "But come to think of it, I haven't seen you around in a while," he continued while Takato leaned forward, deciding that they needed to focus on the serious matter at hand on how she came to be here.

"So, do you know anything about that digimon or why it was chasing you?"

Minami looked up at Takato and at once fear registered in her green eyes and she looked down. Seeing this, Wataru frowned at Takato disapprovingly.

"Now, now!" he scolded. "That's enough. Stop pestering her. She's been through a lot today."

Takato winced.

"But…" he began, only for Kai to get up and place a hand on his shoulder.

"Come on, Takato," he said. "Let's go get washed up for dinner."

"Uh… Okay," he said before following after his cousin, Guilmon in tow. Casting one final look at the girl he drew close to Kai and dropped his voice down to a whisper.

"Um… Shouldn't we get something from her about what happened? I mean, this could be serious."

Kai shrugged. "Give her some time. Guilmon told me about how wild digimon show up every now and then and cause a mess. This is probably all there is to it. No big deal. We just let the proper authorities know and leave it at that."

"Ah… Well… About that…" Takato began, wondering if this would end up being plastered on the news. Seeing Kai's questioning gaze, he quickly thought up an excuse. "I…I know some people who are actually better at sorting this kind of thing out. Why don't I give them a call?"

Kai smiled and nodded. "If you know some people that can sort this mess out, sure. The phone's in the kitchen."

"Thanks!" Takato quickly darted away from Kai and quickly found the phone sitting right by the refrigerator. Although he lacked the kind of conveniences that Rika had, such as her cell phone, it struck him as odd that Kai and his grandfather lacked it as well. They didn't lack the means for purchasing one or two, even with their modest means of living.

_Well, who am I to judge,_ he mused, taking the phone off the hook and dialing.

"Are you going to call Ken?" Guilmon asked, approaching him. Takato nodded.

"Yeah. If there's anyone who can handle this, it's probably going to be him and…"

The boy's face paled just then and he looked at the phone with dawning horror, causing a chill to prickle its way down Guilmon's spine.

"Wha…What's wrong?" he asked worriedly. Takato blanched.

"Oh no…" he whispered. "It's…It's been so long since I've called him or Ms. Kamiya that I…I don't remember the numbers I can reach them at properly. The only one I can think of is Rika's number."

"So?" Guilmon asked. "Call her."

"I will," Takato said in despair, promptly doing just that. "But… Oh man, I'm never going to hear the end of this. I hope she doesn't get mad or anything." He waited for a moment, listening to the dial tone before, finally he heard Rika's voice pick up.

"Hey Rika! It's Ta…kato…" His expression fell as the voice continued on in a dull, mechanical tone. "Oh great. I only got her voicemail."

He grimaced as he continued to listen. It sounded as though his fellow Tamer only set up her voice mail as an afterthought, not expecting anyone to call, nor caring if they did. After a moment, there came the beep.

"Rika, it's Takato. Hey, um… I know this is going to sound crazy, but a wild digimon attacked someone around here, and I was hoping if you could let Ken know for me in case that's…you know…not normal for Okinawa. I…ah…can't reach him at the moment."

_Hopefully that covers things,_ he thought.

"Anyway, I hope you're doing all right and I'll catch you when I get back." He gave a light laugh. "I promise, I'm staying in practice and Kai's grandfather is starting to teach me martial…"

There came a _beep_ on the other end, signaling that the recording had stopped. Sighing, he hung up the phone and looked at his partner's gold-colored eyes.

"Is everything all right, Takato?" he asked with concern. Smiling, he patted his partner on the head.

"I hope so, boy," he said as the sun dipped closer toward the horizon. "I hope so."


	76. Battle of Adventurer's: Doomsday Clock

Davis sat in his seat, looking quite unsettled as he stared out the window of the plane. The light of the moon glowed gently on the clouds below them and he found himself mystified by them. It did little to help him relax so he could fall asleep. The gods knew that he desperately needed rest, but his eyes and brain refused to cooperate. He didn't even have DemiVeemon to blame, as his partner slept in the digimon section of the plane.

Next to him, lying on his shoulder as though it were a pillow, eyes closed and dozing softly was the reason why, her coppery locks falling over her eyes. A stewardess stopped just long enough to adjust her blanket before moving on, not disturbing her in the least.

Turning toward her, Davis looked at her sadly. For the briefest of moments, he swore Catherine were with him, and the thought made him feel even worse, and he quickly looked away. It didn't help his cracked heart however. He needed someone to talk to before he snapped.

Glancing over to the aisle next to him where Sora sat, reading a book thanks to the lamp she held, he tried his luck.

"Hey Sora?" he asked, hoping to not disturb the woman using him for a bed.

"Yeah?" the brown-haired girl replied.

Davis opened his mouth to say something, and upon finding that he didn't know what to say, he closed it again.

"N-Never mind."

Sora turned a page, not looking up.

"You're thinking about Catherine and wondering what's going on with Rumiko, aren't you?"

Davis blushed sharply at that. "H-How…?"

"I'd say it's because I'm the Digidestined of Love," Sora chuckled softly, "but Catherine has a reason to be on your mind, and I know Rumiko's been paying an awful lot of attention to you since we took off."

Another page was turned.

"How are you handling both?"

Davis' mouth worked as he looked down at his hands, illuminated by the light of the cloud light outside his window.

"Like I'm mixed up. Catherine meant a lot to me you know. Rumiko… She makes things weird because…you know. We used to be together. Not a lot of people like to be friendly with their ex you know. And…"

He trailed off, not certain as to what more to say. Fortunately, Sora nodded and picked up the thread of conversation.

"You think she's trying to pick up where the two of you left off?" she asked. Davis winced.

"That's…kind of a blunt way to put things."

Sora shrugged, though her own eyes now looked a bit sad as well. "I've turned down people who meant a lot to me too you know. I loved Matt and Tai after all. Sometimes you have to be direct about your feelings."

Marking her spot in her book, she closed it up and turned toward Davis.

"I'll admit, Rumiko can be a little flighty about things. She can be impulsive and a bit naïve, but…she's not completely so. She learned a lot after having Rika and that whole ordeal with her father. If she wants to get in a relationship with you, she'll give you all the time you need. She just…" She paused, looking for how to best frame her next words. "…wants to help you feel better. She's always had a lot of energy and doesn't like to see people feel down. That's all."

Davis nodded, remembering how rambunctious she had been when he first dated her. He felt so completely out of her league that he didn't know what to do half the time and he floundered; a fault of his that contributed to their eventual breakup.

"I just… I don't know." Davis sighed. "I feel like all I've ever done is make mistakes. I thought stuff was working out between me and Catherine and now…" He glanced at Rumiko uncertainly. "What if I make another mistake?"

His voice quavered ever so slightly on that last word, fearing its truth; fearing that he would make one more again, this time with Rumiko. He wasn't blind to how she acted around him, though he hoped it to be just his imagination and loneliness gnawing at him. Pain made people do things that weren't smart, and Davis knew full well that he wasn't smart to begin with.

Sora smiled at him softly. "You're talking it out with me," she said gently. "I think, at least, you're on the right path. Just make sure you have enough space and time to see if this is what you really want and…well…do your best. I'm here if you need to talk some more."

Rumiko sighed suddenly and adjusted herself against Davis' shoulder, slipping a hand over his arm and pulling him closer. Davis felt his heart skip a beat and he looked away quickly.

"Thanks…" he muttered, to which Sora chuckled.

"Good thing to, because it looks like you're going to need all that talking."

"You know, being the Digidestined of Love, you'd think you would have gone into couples counseling or something like writing a love advise blog," Davis said with a blush. "I bet you'd be great at it."

Taking up her book, Sora reopened it. "Can't turn back the clock now," she pointed out. "Either of us. Keep that in mind to. Once done, there's no undoing. There's only going forward."

Davis nodded, feeling the heavy weight of the future settling on his shoulders, wondering if he was prepared for it.

**###**

Ryuuji leaned back in his chair thoughtfully, pondering events as he counted down the time for when Apocalymon's plan – long in the making – was to come to fruition. Raising a wine glass, he swirled its contents and took a sip, enjoying the bitter tang it left in his mouth.

It would be one of the few things about the human world he knew he would miss, but there was no turning back now. There had never been any turning back.

_Wasn't there?_

The thought came to him rather disquietingly, causing him to grimace at the wine and set it down on his desk in disgust.

_My false proteins must be reacting to the alcohol content,_ he mused. Digimon forms reacted chaotically with the material world, losing much of their power the longer they stayed there. Becoming increasingly… _organic_ in function in order to support the energy fields required to shape their bodies. Therein lay the problem however, as digimon had enormous energy costs, and chemical synthesis was simply inadequate in the long run, particularly for the higher levels of power.

Even this form – one he took to hide his true nature and to conserve his power – had its limits. Fortunately, periodic visits to the digital plane restored him somewhat, but he could not stay there long enough for it to do what was needed. Not while Omnimon was there.

_Not that it matters. Once the computer network is destroyed, Omnimon and the Digidestined with him will be irradiated as the digital space decays and erodes, leaving them with little protection against the vacuum of space. And then, with my new network established by the V-Pet system, the world can be reordered or destroyed at a whim, and then the Nightmare Soldiers will finally triumph._

Placing his hands together, he watched the second hand tick all the way to its conclusion, and the lights in the room were drowned in darkness.

**###**

"Time to eat… _again!"_ Guilmon laughed, digging into his bowl eagerly, gulping down huge mouthfuls, leaving Takato, who watched him, a bit embarrassed by his partner's manners.

_Does he even taste it before it hits his stomach?_ he wondered before Calumon buzzed over to his bowl with a laugh and shoved Guilmon's head back.

"I want to eat some to!" he cried, ducking his head inside. Guilmon's mouth fell open, aghast. Guilmon swiped at him and dove over his food protectively. Undeterred, the creampuff of a digimon then flew over to the dinner table and landed amidst the large spread, snatching up whatever small bits he could without getting caught.

"Calumon…" Takato scolded, as the adorable little digimon bounced and danced about. "We're _trying_ to eat!"

"And I'm trying to play!" Calumon replied happily. As he spun in midair, his eyes fell on Minami. There was a look in her eyes, a scarcely hidden sadness, that drove him over to her on instinct, and he promptly fell into her lap, smiling up at her with his big, green eyes. The light in Minami's eyes changed slightly at his presence, and she wrapped her arms around him.

"You're so cute," she cooed, to which Calumon snuggled up even closer to her and giggled.

" _Don't_ encourage him, trust me," sighed Takato, knowing full well that if he were so, it would become virtually _impossible_ to get him to settle down. Calumon _loved_ compliments, and would go to great lengths to get them. Turning back to the meal, Takato poked at the food with his chopsticks, a wide grin splitting across his face.

"This is good!" he exclaimed.

"It's called Mimigaa," Wataru said with a small smile.

"And what's that?"

"A delicacy," Minami explained. "Pigs ears."

"Pig wha…?!" Takato's eyes went wide in their sockets. Taking advantage of the distraction, Calumon leapt out from Minami's arms and crashed amidst the food.

"I feel like eating food! Food is super _good!"_

Kai yanked back one plate to avoid the chaotic mess Calumon was making before grinning at Takato and presenting it to him.

"Try this if you don't like Minigaa," he said, to which Takato looked at doubtfully. They were rounded and large, reminding Takato of sausages, only much thicker, and there was something hard attached to the ends. Hard, and pointed.

"What are those…?"

"Pigs feet," Minami answered, to which Takato shook his head quickly and gave a loud squeak.

"No thanks!" he said, much to Kai's laughter.

"It's good!" he insisted, only to be interrupted as Guilmon suddenly appeared over the plate and snatched up one of the feet greedily. "Ah! Guilmon, no! Give it back! That's people food not digi-food!"

Guilmon didn't seem to care in the least who the food was made for; insisting on having his share, and encouraged by how fun it was to struggle over the delectable meat, Guilmon clamped his fangs down and tugged harder, nearly ripping it out of Kai's grasp and knocking him over. Kai managed to hang on however, but it was clear that he was fighting a losing battle. Minami found herself laughing lightly at their antics, only to pause as a memory came to mind, that of a cream-furred puppy who would sometimes struggle with her playfully over her toys.

She could still hear the playful growls as the puppy looked up at her with loving eyes, right before climbing into her lap to fall asleep. Tears welled up in her eyes and she looked away, unable to continue watching the scene.

Sensing the change in the mood, Guilmon ceased in his battle with Kai and glanced over at Minami worriedly. Seeing this, Kai paused as well and turned toward her in concern.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry," she choked.

"Don't hold back," Wataru said, taking a sip from his glass. "Just cry if you want to. No reason to be sorry about how you feel." Wiping at his mouth, he set it back down and took up his _Shamisen._

"Emotions are meant to be experienced, but they can be hard to handle. Perhaps some soothing music will help to calm you down."

Plucking at the strings, Wataru began to play a soft melody. Minami struggled to hold back her tears, but the sound of the _Shamisen,_ melancholy in tone, quickly took its toll on her. With a shake of her shoulders, tears began to fall from her eyes. She let them spill forth, though she continued to struggle with them, not wanting to completely break down in front of her hosts and rescuers.

_I'm sorry,_ she thought, wiping at her green eyes. _I'm sorry…Mei…_

**###**

Rika drew abreast of the calendar on her walland glanced at it. On the first day of the month of August was a note written in red.

_Mom comes home._

Her expression, though neutral to the untrained eye, took on a softer look that was at once mixed with agitation.

_Mom's. You miss 'em when they're gone, and when they're here, you just want them to leave you alone._

She started away from the calendar, only to pause and frown. She glanced over her shoulder at what appeared to be nothing, but she knew better.

"Renamon? You just laughed, didn't you?"

"No," Renamon replied, appearing out of thin air behind her, though her eyes glinted with amusement. Rika turned away, not believing her in the slightest as she turned the corner.

"Well, if you did, I would have forgiven you."

_That_ got the reaction she expected, as the vulpine digimon let out a hearty laugh from within her room. Rika fought against the smile that tugged at the corners of her lips, not wanting to give the impression she ever found anything funny or endearing. Not when she had an image to protect.

She didn't get very far however, as the lights in her home flickered slightly.

"Great," she grumbled. "First the weird text message; then the no number phone call, and now the power is acting up."

Shaking her head, she thought about getting herself ready for bed, making disgusted noise as the lights continued to play with being on and off. "What else can go wrong?"

"A great many things it would appear," Renamon replied, appearing behind her once more.

Turning toward her partner, Rika raised an eyebrow. Renamon pointed to the outdoors.

"The other homes across the street," she said. "They have been having similar difficulties. A quick look from atop the roof indicates that this problem is not localized to our area either."

Rika narrowed her eyes. "Weird. It's probably nothing to worry about though. Sometimes these things just happen."

Renamon frowned slightly. "The news that your grandmother is watching suggests otherwise."

Rika arched an eyebrow at her again and, after hesitating for just a moment, headed out of her room, red hair brushing against her shoulders as she padded over to the living room. The news was on as Renamon had said, and it didn't sound the least bit good.

_"And now more of the top story from Top Break News,"_ spoke a frazzled reporter as behind him traffic lights and advertizing signs blinked erratically and without rhyme or reason. Some vehicles, their drivers confused, were smoking from slamming into each other. _"Reports are coming in from all over the city! Computers and systems connected to computers are failing everywhere! Some experts fear that this could be a sign of an incoming digimon attack, as one was sighted having destroyed the oil plant based out in…"_

The lights flickered again and went black for a moment, interrupting the news reporter before switching back on.

"Oh dear," Seiko said as the lights came back on a second later. "It's getting worse."

**###**

"Yeah," Ken said to Rika over the phone as he set a candle in his office. "We're experiencing the same problem over here too. I have Miki, Megumi, Kari and Mimi here so far in case something happens while we try to fix things." A pause. "I know you won't like it, but I'd rather that you stay home and stay rested in case we need you. At this point, anything can happen."

There was a noncommittal sound from the other end, and Rika hung up, leaving Ken to sigh despondently.

"I don't think she's going to listen to me," he said as Wormmon approached him, candles in his claws while Kari followed him, flashlight in hand to light his way.

"Who was that?" Kari asked.

"Rika," Ken replied as Wormmon climbed onto his desk and passed him more candles. "She wants to know what we do about the situation and if there's anything she can do. I told her to stay home for now, but…well… You know."

"Stubborn?" Kari asked with a small smile. Ken nodded. Glancing outside, Kari's expression became worried. "I hope that Takato and Henry are doing all right. They're on their own after all. If they're in trouble, we can't help them."

"I'm sure they're going to be fine, but I'll check on them just to be sure," Ken said before the lights flickered back on. "Ah, good. The backup generator is still functioning." Coming around the desk, he headed over to his computers and turned them on. Within short order, the V-Pet appeared, barking at them happily, causing Ken to frown. He didn't like the thing, given that it was rather noisy and insistent on being paid attention to, but it _did_ do its job as advertised.

"Nice to see everything's back up and running" came the voice of Gatomon as she stepped into view with more flashlight batteries and candles. Upon sighting the V-Pet as it bounced along the screen merrily, her ears pinned back against her head and she scowled. "Oh no… A kitty's worst nightmare."

"Be nice, Gatomon," Kari admonished. "Ken needs it for his work."

"I don't have to be nice to that thing," Gatomon growled, glaring pointedly at the computer monitor. "It's annoying and it hurts my ears with all that barking. Dogs have no respect for quiet."

Kari was about to say something when she saw Ken pull out his phone again and quickly dialed a number. Raising it to his ear, he spoke.

"Hello? Henry? It's Ken. Is everything all right over there?"

**###**

_"It's very disturbing,"_ Henry heard Ken say to him over the phone. _"You haven't had any problems?"_

"No," Henry replied, glancing back at the news as it relayed the latest reports on the situation emerging across the world. Already it seemed that whatever was happening in Japan was rapidly spreading throughout the world; The United States, Russia, China, Europe… Anywhere with significant digital capabilities. "And you don't know what's causing it?"

_"Not yet, but we're working on it. It may be a computer virus. If that's the case, it's a big one. Arguably the biggest we've ever seen since the second Diaboromon incident."_

"I bet it's connected with the Nightmare Soldiers Renamon warned us about," Henry said as Terriermon emerged from the shower, rubbing himself down with his ears as though they were towels.

_"With the enormity of what we're looking at, that seems to be the most likely theory since we know they planned to do something. Anyway, I just wanted to make sure you're okay, and that…"_

Henry blinked as the hotel phone line abruptly went dead.

"Hello, Ken!" he exclaimed, rising from his seat. "Are you there? Hello! Ken!"

"What's going on, Henry?" Terriermon asked as the boy looked at the receiver before setting it back down with a heavy click.

"I got cut off," he replied. Shaking his head he headed over to the hotel window, looking out at the lights in town. For the time being they remained stable, but who knew how long that would last?

Henry suspected it was simply a matter of time.

"This is not good," he said continued. "Ken said that computers everywhere are going haywire. If that's the case…"

He trailed off, letting the silence finish for him. Hopping up beside his partner, Terriermon pressed himself to the glass and scowled.

"Now why do I have a feeling that _we're_ going to get involved?"

Henry looked down at his partner and rubbed the back of his head.

"We'll see what happens. Let's not count on anything for the time being."

Terriermon giggled before something outside caught his eye. A silver light streaking across the heavens. "Oh hey! A shooting star! Make a wish Henry!"

Henry's expression closed his eyes, silently praying that his friends and family would be all right.

**###**

"Great," Ken cursed, glaring at his cell phone angrily as it read 'no-signal' to him. "Whatever this is, it's taken out the phones too. Damn it! What's _causing this?"_

"Ken!" exclaimed Kari, pointing at the computer screen. Following her direction, Ken's eyes widened with dreadful realization as the cream-colored puppy ran along the screen, devouring his web browser with frightening speed.

"The V-Pet!" he exclaimed as the puppy turned up at him and began to bark excitedly.


	77. Battle of Adventurer's: Cracks in the Dam

Yolei stood in front of the mirror of the women's bathroom, glaring at her cell phone as it once again refused to send out a message to her husband. The virus that was infecting Japan was hitting it hard it seemed. Hypnos so far managed to remain one of the few holdouts, but neither she nor Takeru could understand why.

_Was this some kind of Trojan with a delayed effect meant to go off at a specific time?_ she wondered, turning her eyes up at the mirror, wincing at how sickly and pallid she looked right now. In a way it made sense. August First was, after all, the anniversary that the Tai and the rest of the original eight Digidestined – the _known_ original Digidestined at any rate – went to the summer camp that started the whole adventure with the Digital World.

_That has to be the case,_ Yolei thought, setting her phone down. _It's not like anyone's going to be sending out a massive computer virus like this over National Girlfriend Day or something._

Pocketing her phone, Yolei started to leave only to grab hold of the sink for stability as a wave of nausea overtook her. With as much strength as she could muster, she stumbled into the closest stall and promptly emptied the contents of her stomach into the toilet. After what felt like an eternity, she drew back and, gasping heavily, wiped her arm over her mouth, disgusted by the acidic taste in the back of her throat.

Morning sickness was every bit as horrible as she heard it to be, and it most _certainly_ didn't live up to its name of being a morning phenomenon.

_It's not your fault…_ she thought, placing a hand on her stomach, feeling the small swelling of her stomach that signaled her pregnancy. _Well… I mean it is, but it's not intentional._

None of it was as a matter of fact. She wasn't sure when precisely it happened, save that it occurred at the very least in the month of July if not late June. Most likely it had been when Ken returned home from the incident in the tunnels and she nearly broke the bed having her way with him. Neither of them had thought about the consequences then. Now however…

_Should have guessed it when I thought that it was just a little weight gain…_

Yolei sighed and got to her feet. A massive combination of factors colliding together; that's what this was. She had her period the previous week before their little dalliance and being overworked she forgot to make sure she took proper precautions. Ken had been no less stressed and tired than she.

That, combined with their burning love for one another, was a perfect storm for something such as this to happen.

_Perfect storm, imperfect timing._ Yolei adjusted her outfit and, once she was satisfied that she was finished puking, she took a few practice steps before returning to the sink. A quick splash of water to wash with and Yolei left the bathroom, for once grateful that she had gotten used to working nightshifts. The last thing she needed was to harm the baby growing inside her in some manner out of carelessness and stress.

She touched her stomach once again, pressing her lips together worryingly.

_Ken… I'm going to have to talk to him about this soon,_ she thought, returning to her post.

**###**

The dishes clinked as Takato finished setting the last of them in the strainer to dry out. Leaning back, he wiped a hand along his face, grateful for the cool breeze that blew in from outside. Smiling at the sound of the ocean waves, he found himself wishing that he could stay here. It was quiet and beautiful; a perfect place to get away from the world and the insanity it contained. Away from the fighting and the wild digimon…

Takato's face sobered at that. No. Even here wasn't safe from danger.

"Hey Takato," came Kai's voice, snapping him out of his thoughts. "You okay? You looked like you were lost in la-la land or something."

"Sorry," Takato replied with a chuckle. "I was just…thinking about how nice this place is."

"It sure seems to agree with you," Kai grinned. "Too bad you can't move up here. I'd love to take you on as a fishing partner."

"Really?" Takato raised an eyebrow, trying to picture himself living out the rest of his life as a fisherman. For some reason he just couldn't do it.

"Yeah," Kai nodded with a laugh. "I bet Guilmon would like it too! Free seafood and everything!"

"Bread too?" the crimson dinosaur asked, ears perking up on his head.

"Sure, why not?" Kai laughed. "If that's what you want. You're a pretty simple guy, Guilmon."

"Of course I'm simple!" Guilmon chirped happily. "Eating bread is very simple so that's what I am!"

"If you keep eating it, you'll only get fat," Takato joked, poking at his partner's belly. "Besides…" His expression hardened. "I…don't think it's a good idea for me to leave where I am. There's a lot of stuff going on over there and people who… Well…" He gave a light, embarrassed laugh as he thought of the Digidestined, Henry and Rika. "I don't know if I'm really all that needed, but I can't just leave them because this place is nice."

He thought back to what Rika had said back in the tunnel when she joined in the search for Guilmon.

_"A Tamer never walks away from danger."_

Kai shrugged. "Well, maybe you can come live here when you retire," he suggested. "I'll keep a spot on my boat open."

"Thanks," Takato smiled as they left the kitchen together. His smile dropped upon finding Minami absent from the house.

"Where…?" began Kai while Takato rushed forward, half afraid that the girl had been kidnapped when they hadn't been looking.

"Minami!" he called out, reaching the porch. He quickly spotted her standing down at the edge of the beach, holding something in her arms. "There!"

Pointing quickly for Kai, he soon broke into a light jog down the hill, Kai and Guilmon quickly following after. Spotting the unusual activity from the rooftop, Calumon floated on down to join them, giggling up a storm.

"Thank goodness," Takato breathed, coming to a halt before the girl. "You had us worried for a second there."

"I'm fine," she said quietly, smiling apologetically. "I was just thinking about what you asked earlier when I woke up. About why that digimon might have attacked me."

Takato raised an eyebrow at this as Kai and the others drew up beside them, Calumon landing on Guilmon's back. Down from the far end of the beach, the lighthouse shone with an ominous red light. Takato shivered a little but quickly dismissed it as a chill from the wind. A particularly loud wave crashed against the shore before Minami was able to continue.

"I think that digimon was after this computer," Minami said once quiet had returned to the beach. Lowering her head, she pulled the laptop closer to her chest. "Right before I left, my dad told me to take it far away. I don't know wh…"

A sudden, terrifying thought came to her and with a gasp she began to break into a run, only for Kai to step in front of her, blocking her path.

"Hold on!"

"But I've got to go check on my dad!" she exclaimed, the panic rising in her chest. They had tried calling her home earlier, but were only able to leave a message.

"I know," Kai said. "But it's kind of late. We'll do it first thing in the morning, okay?"

"Yeah, I guess so," Minami conceded hesitantly. Her father lived a fair ways off from the island after all, and they would need light to get where they were going safely. "But… Do you know where he is?"

Kai folded his arms over his chest and turned back toward the ocean. "He works with the company that makes the V-Pet, right? I can guess that much at least since the commercials for it are everywhere now. I remember seeing him advertising for it a few times. It kind of helped that you're pretty famous too."

Turning suddenly, he broke into a run back toward the house. Seeing this, Calumon jumped off Guilmon's back and flew after him excitedly.

"Anyway, I'm going to talk to grandpa about this!"

"Uh… Minami?" Takato began as his cousin disappeared up the path. "Do you think I could take a look at that laptop?"

"Uh…sure," she said, handing it over to the boy, who then sat down on the beach and opened it.

"Maybe I can figure out why that digimon would want it," he said, going through the startup and arriving at the desktop. At once, a V-Pet appeared, barking happily and bouncing up and down in excitement.

Takato couldn't help but give a light laugh at the sight.

"These V-Pets really are pretty cool," he complimented, moving the mouse curser to a blinking icon. Upon clicking it, a bowl of digital kibble appeared, and the puppy immediately began gobbling it down.

"How cute, you have to feed it!"

Minami knelt down beside him. "That V-Pet is the first one ever made," she explained. "My dad made it for me. He said it would be just like having Mei back with me again." She glanced away, a sad expression crossing her face. "

"Who's Mei?" Takato asked hesitantly, sensing the sorrowful tone in her voice.

Minami looked down, wincing. "She was just a puppy. It happened a while back. She was so cute. She followed me everywhere I went."

Minami closed her eyes, thinking of that one stormy day when she had been out on the surf. Mei had followed her then too. It was all so clear to her, as though it had just happened yesterday. The frantic sounds of her barks as she pranced along the shore, not wanting to be separated for even a moment even though Minami wouldn't bring her along out onto the surf.

"I was bodyboarding," Minami continued, her voice shaking. Tears stung at the corners of her eyes. "And she…"

_Mei dropped into the water, finally beyond willing to put up with being separated from Minami, swimming and barking endlessly until…_

"The waves were too strong for her," Minami cried, finally breaking down and burying her face against her knees. "I never saw her again!"

On the screen of the laptop, the V-Pet yawned and sat on its haunches, finally going to sleep.

"I know my dad was just trying to make me feel better," Minami continued, lifting her face up. Her view of the ocean was blurred by her tears. "But he can never replace Mei! _Especially_ not with this V-Pet! It's just a hunk of data!"

Getting to her feet, Minami stormed off, missing the hurt look on Guilmon and Takato's faces at this.

"Huh? But Minami, that's not true!" he protested, remembering this conversation with Rika. "I mean, look at Guilmon. He's data too, but he's just as real to me as any other pet."

Minami wandered out to the edge of the water, allowing the waves to spill over her feet.

"What if something happened to Guilmon, Takato?" she asked. "Would you be happy if you got a V-Pet as a replacement?"

Takato looked over at his partner, who now yawned and settled himself down on his claws to nap.

"You can't replace a friend," Minami continued, turning around back toward him. "You know what I mean, don't you?"

"Uh…?" Takato's eyebrows rose up as he looked back at her before thinking about Guilmon and what Minami was talking about.

_Guilmon… There wouldn't be any replacing him…_

"Yeah…" he said, closing out of the V-Pet program. "I do."

Seeing that there was nothing more to be gained from investigating her computer, Takato shut it down and closed the lid.

"But I don't think Mei considers what happened to be your fault," he said, climbing to his feet. "And I bet Mei would want you to just be happy, even if they're not around."

_"It was my fault!"_ Minami cried suddenly, causing Guilmon's head to rise in alarm. Takato's expression softened at her outcry, but he held firm.

"It may feel that way, but it really wasn't," he replied gently. Mei looked up at him, her eyes awash with pain that she barely held back beneath the surface. She knew what he was trying to do and she understood it. But it didn't change how she felt. The pain was still too great for her.

"Thank you," she whispered. "You're very kind."

Takato looked at her in surprise for a moment at her words. Kind? What had he done except talk to her? Suddenly feeling flustered, he found himself unable to look at the girl.

"Well, I just…I mean…uh… W-Why don't we head back? It's getting late…and embarrassing."

Blushing now and grateful that the darkness of night hid it for him, Takato tucked the laptop under his arm and together he and Minami started back toward the house, wondering what tomorrow would bring them.

**###**

"It's the V-Pet, I'm sure of it now," Ken said, glaring at the screen. He had disconnected multiple wires from it in an attempt to shut it down, up to and including the power cord. However, the computer continued to run, ignoring the lack of electrical power now.

"Great, so what do we do now?" Kari asked as Megumi stood up from her spot on the floor, wiping an arm over her face in obvious frustration at another attempt at liberating their hardware from the digital program. Beside her, the case to the hard drive was open and parts lay scattered on the floor.

"Well, it's ignoring actual rules governing how computers operate," said Megumi. "At this point I'm starting to think that blowing it up isn't going to do a thing."

"We just got this stuff too," grumbled Miki from the chair next to her. "I don't know _how_ we're going to be able to replace this stuff again."

"Forget about it for now," Ken said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "The V-Pet is impacting the real world's network. What we should be concerned about is whether or not we have a means of doing something about it."

He glanced down at Wormmon. "What do you say? Destroy the computer completely?"

"I don't know," Wormmon shrugged. "Breaking it didn't seem to do anything. We could always try Gatomon's catnip. She swears by it."

"It only works on injuries and sickness," Gatomon replied, causing Miki to look at her in bewilderment.

"That…doesn't make any sense. Real world catnip doesn't even do that. It just makes cats stoned."

_"Focus!"_ Ken ordered. "Disconnecting it and stripping it apart hasn't done anything to it. Destroying it could very well be the only practical option at this point. I…" Ken blinked and stared at the computer monitor.

"Ken?" Kari asked, wondering what was going on.

"Could it be…?" he began, leaning closer to the monitor. "Is _this_ where it's… _incubating?"_

His eyes met the black dots of the barking dog, who grinned at him before suddenly morphing into a dark, imp-like creature with bat wings springing from its back. With a wild laugh it suddenly emerged from the screen in a flash of light, causing Ken to jump back, startled. In rapid succession, the imp's form morphed, taking on a mechanical appearance with claws that looked like magnets. Its head, shaped like a Taser, sparked with electricity and it laughed, eyes glowing ominously red.

"A Kokuwamon!" Gatomon exclaimed, launching herself at the digimon. Kokuwamon laughed again, its pincers shooting out a stream of electricity that slammed into the tiny Champion feline. Gritting her teeth, Gatomon hung on through the pain and thrust her gloved claws forward into a powerful punch.

_"Lightning Paw!"_ she shouted, and her fist struck the Kokuwamon with tremendous force sending it careening through the wall, shattering plaster and shooting outside into the streets before shattering into innumerable shards of data.

"Gatomon!" Kari exclaimed, running over to her partner and lifting her into her arms gently. "Are you all right?"

"Static electricity does _not_ agree with this kitty's fur," Gatomon grumbled, shaking her head as her fur stood on end. "But I'm fine."

"We won't be getting any information out of _that_ digimon though," Megumi pointed out as the remaining data floated skyward. Ken drew up beside her and leaned an arm against the whole in the wall, wondering just how he was going to cover the costs of repairs before dismissing them.

"Don't worry," he said. "If this incident means anything, we're bound to find more before too long."


	78. Battle of Adventurer's: Night Terror's Guard

A light breeze blew through the Uehara household, and although the temperature was cool, the air was warm enough that no one residing within bothered with any blankets. Minami lay in one corner of the room, her arm cradling her computer close to her, thoughts of the night's events flitting through her dreams while Takato, Kai and Wataru slept together on the other end. Snores permeated the air, though they didn't so much as disturb anyone, not even the two digimon that slept out on the porch, just outside the range of the humans.

Indeed, so deep was their sleep that when Guilmon rolled over the side of the porch and crashed them both to the ground, neither digimon awoke from their slumber, and instead sleep-climbed their way back up without so much as missing a beat.

The day had been a big one for all involved. Every second of sleep had been well earned.

However, that sleep would not remain undisturbed forever, for as Guilmon flopped back down off the porch, something jarred him awake. This disturbance had nothing to do with the impact, but rather some instinct buried deep within. An instinct warning him that danger was afoot. Climbing to his feet, he immediately began growling, his pupils shrinking as the sense of danger drew near. From the woods surrounding the house, there came the loud sound of trees splintering, sending birds fluttering into the air to flee the carnage.

Takato grunted as Kai's foot, caught in the throes of dreams, abruptly kicked him in the face. Grabbing his cousin's ankle, he pushed it aside and sat up, sleep hovering over his mind like a cloud as he wondered what the time was.

The sound of Guilmon's growling blew away the remains of sleep that addled his mind and all questions of time were summarily dismissed until further notice.

"What's going on, Guilmon?" he asked, turning toward his partner in alarm as the crimson dinosaur scraped at the ground. The answer, Takato knew, was obvious. Long association taught him that the most common reason behind this reaction was the presence of a digimon. Takato soon found that he didn't need to strain his ears to confirm this either, as the sound of destruction and startled birds grew louder.

Humans and digimon weren't always the subtlest of creatures when it came to destroying things, but quite often digimon – particularly Wild Ones – tended to care less about it, no doubt owing to their normally larger sizes and power.

"Takato?" came Kai's slurred voice as he and his grandfather woke up now, disturbed by a particularly loud crash, signaling that whatever the intruder was, it now lay almost on their doorstep.

"Uh, oh…" Grabbing his goggles, Takato strapped them on, Rika's training already taking hold.

What is it?" Minami asked, joining them, clutching her laptop to her chest.

"I don't know," replied Takato. "But I'll bet we'll find out soon enough."

He couldn't have been more right, for no sooner were the words out of his mouth did a giant, crustacean like creature, two forward facing talons and a scorpion-like tail leapt out of the forest, aiming straight at Guilmon, his instincts, like the Rookie's, no doubt ascertaining that he would be the greatest threat in the group. Snarling, Guilmon leapt upward, dodging the crustacean's attack before coming back down to slash at the larger opponent. His claws however merely skirted along its armored exoskeleton, and with a whip of its tail, it slammed into Guilmon and threw him into the house, narrowly missing Minami but snapping a support beam holding up part of the roof, causing it to crumble slightly as it found itself with nothing helping to keep it up.

"Guilmon!" Takato shouted as the dinosaur quickly recovered and launched himself back outside. "Get that thing away from the house!"

Guilmon crashed into the digimon and pushed it past the stonewall, the crustacean digimon taken aback by Guilmon's quick counterattack.

"Kai," began Takato, pulling out his digivice from under his shirt. "Get everybody out of here!"

Kai's mouth dropped in bewilderment. "Wait! W-What're you going to do, Takato?"

"I'm going to take care of that thing," he replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. This response was met by Kai's eyes growing wide with horror.

_"Are you kidding?! You can't!"_

_"You'd better believe I can! I have to!"_ Takato shouted before glancing back down at his digivice and calling up the scanning function, displaying the statistics of Guilmon's opponents. "It's okay," he said, trying to put them at ease. "I have a lot of experience at this."

_Except I don't think I've ever fought an Ultimate level digimon before,_ he thought, repressing a grimace. Guilmon, though strong, did not have the power to combat an opponent as tough as Scorpiomon. He remembered reading something about the digimon from the histories of the Digidestined from before the War. They had encountered one such digimon before during their conflict with the Dark Masters. Despite being considered a flunky, the digimon proved to be fearsomely powerful, capable of standing up to numerous Champions by itself, necessitating further digivolution to the Ultimate level to defeat it.

_And I've only just started learning how to digivolve to the Champion level. This is…really out of my league._

He tightened his grip on his digivice in determination.

_But I'm the only Tamer here. I've got to fight or else we're all dead._

With that thought in mind, Takato jumped off the porch to chase after the combatants.

"Well okay," Kai said, more to himself than to anyone else as his cousin took off before he continued on in a louder voice. "Just be careful!"

Above on the rooftop, a dark figure, small but stout with scuba gear, grinned as it watched Takato leave. Jumping ever so slightly it brought the full weight of its body to bear on the fragile roof, smashing through it with contemptuous ease, startling the remaining humans.

"Kai!" shouted Wataru, quickly adopting a fighting stance. "Get Minami out of here! I'll handle this one!"

"Come on!" Wasting no time, Kai led Minami out of the house as the new digimon turned its attention on Wataru, a bit surprised that the human was preparing to fight it. Didn't he know his place in the order of things?

Clearly not.

Minami looked over her shoulder, hating the idea of leaving the old man behind.

"But…!" she began in protest, only for Kai to take hold of her by the shoulder and lead her along.

"Grandpa's a martial arts master," he explained, trying to put a brave face on things. "Don't worry, he'll be fine!"

_I hope,_ he thought, not looking over his shoulder as the two of them bolted away from the house.

Inside the house, Wataru glared at the digimon with fierce determination.

"You just messed with the wrong guy, whatever you are!" he shouted. "I'm taking you down!"

Throwing himself forward, leg outstretched into a kick, Wataru let out a fearsome cry…only for the digimon to laugh and then knock him out of the air with a contemptuous _smack._ Wataru struck the floor hard, stars exploding across his vision. No longer caring for the human, the scuba-geared digimon smashed its way out of the wall of the house, quickly spotting Kai and Minami and darted after them. With a heavy groan, Wataru forced himself back to his knees, his limbs sluggish and barely responding. Black spots crowded his vision and he wavered, trying to track his opponent.

"Come…Come back here you coward!" he shouted hoarsely before his hand slipped out from under him, sending him crashing into unconsciousness.

**###**

The battle between Scorpiomon and Guilmon seesawed back and forth. Guilmon's smaller size and greater mobility kept him in the game while Scorpiomon's stronger armor laughed off the Rookie's attempts to do any damage. Sparks flew whenever his claws found an opening, showing little worth.

Time for a different approach.

_"Pyro Sphere!"_

Jumping into the air once more, an eerie red light glowed in the back of Guilmon's throat. Rearing his head back, he shot a series of crimson fireballs at the Scorpiomon who, for once, maneuvered through the woods they fought in, allowing the trees to soak up the damage. Sitting up to expose his underbelly, plates segmented and tiny gun barrels extended forth, shooting numerous, azure blasts of energy that caught Guilmon by surprise, detonating around him and slamming into his scales, kicking up a cloud of smoke.

_"Takato!"_ he cried out in pain.

_That's my cue!_ the boy exclaimed mentally as he finally drew near. Pulling out his first card he slashed it through the slot of his digivice.

_"Digi-modify! Aerowing activate!"_

Digivolution. He had thought about using the card, but Rika's words spoke to him in the midst of the battle; her training reaching him through the chaos. _"Not all battles require a hammer; especially if your enemy has a bigger one to start with."_ Seeing Guilmon holding his own against the crustacean with his superior mobility, and remembering the limitations of Scorpiomon's field of fire – his underbelly cannons limited to ground combat while the ranged blasts from his talons were slow and only useful against a similarly paced opponent. The answer came to him quickly.

Change the rules and improve Guilmon's mobility by granting him flight.

Tattered, dragon-like wings sprouted from Guilmon's back just then, and with a graceful flap, he flew into the air, dodging the remainder of the blasts.

"Go get him boy!" Takato cheered. Scorpiomon snarled as the tide of battle altered.

_This Rookie is proving to be an annoyance,_ it growled.

**###**

Holding on to Minami's hand, Kai ran at breakneck speed along the beach. He had a rough idea of a plan to get Minami to the boats and then get some distance away from the digimon. He couldn't vouch for it as a _good_ plan, but the water was his territory and he worked better on terrain he knew well. At any rate, boats had considerable speed that he could use to his advantage, and since the digimon were undoubtedly after Minami, they needed more speed than what their feet could provide for them on the rocky land.

He heard the sound of thundering feet behind him, and before he could react, the digimon his grandfather swore to hold off snatched up Minami and then a powerful tail smacked him to the side, sending him careening to the side, his arm stinging from the impact. Crying out in surprise, Minami dropped her computer, and it struck the sand, its top flipping open to display its screen. A bright glow began emerge from its center…

The digimon, noticing it, paused just long enough to glance over his shoulder to see a dog-like creature with white fur, a large, golden tail and a shining, sun-like main flanking its horned head erupt from the screen, massive fangs locked together, glistening in the light of the computer.

With a snarl, the new digimon lunged in for the attack.

**###**

Scorpiomon had had enough. Guilmon darted readily around him, raining blast after blast on him, and its _Tail Blade_ attack was far too slow to respond in kind. Finally rising up onto its tail like a cobra, it exposed his underbelly and set its cannons to work, firing at Guilmon as he came in for a dive. Picking up the speed, Guilmon dodged the incoming attacks and slammed into Scorpiomon _hard,_ causing the ground beneath him to detonate with explosive force _._ Scorpiomon felt something _snap_ inside its body from the impact and with a roar, he burst into a thousand shards of data.

"All right, Guilmon!" Takato shouted, pumping his fist into the air as his partner circled over the fragmented remains of the destroyed Scorpiomon. His body took on a crimson glow as he drew the data into his body, causing Takato to hesitate in his celebration.

"Uh…Guilmon?" he asked, lowering his arm. "What…are you doing?"

"Huh?" Guilmon's eyes snapped open, and at once the loading of the destroyed Scorpiomon stopped. "Oh! You don't want me to do that anymore?"

"Uh…" Takato frowned uncertainly. _Now that I think about it… We haven't actually talked about this. Loading digimon is illegal and…_ He thought back to all of his arguments with Rika back when they first met. _…and…not to mention…I don't like it._

"We'll talk about it later," he promised as Guilmon came in for a landing. "Right now, we've got to go check on the others! Come on!"

Waving Guilmon to follow after him, he rushed over to the house, only to find in horror its smashed wall and Kai's grandfather, lying unconscious on the floor. Quickly climbing inside, he checked the man's pulse before breathing a sigh of relief. At his touch, the old man stirred and began to sit up.

"Easy there," Takato said, helping the man. "You look like you got hit pretty hard there. What happened?"

"Someone broke in after you left," Wataru rasped, pressing one hand to his head with a pained wince. "I tried to hold him off while Kai and Minami fled, but…" He grimaced and then suddenly surged to his feet. "Kai! I've got to…!"

"Just hang on! Guilmon and I can find him! You just sit here and… Mr. Uehara!"

Takato's call fell on deaf ears as the old man all but toppled off the porch, desiring to find his grandson. Grabbing hold of him, Takato helped him sit up.

"Just hang in there," Takato said. "We'll find them. Kai's smart, so he should be all right," he said, looking over to Guilmon. "The question is where…?"

"Takato!"

Takato turned, following Guilmon's claw to a light further down the beach. A bestial roar erupted from the beach, answering the boy's question.

**###**

The scuba-gear wearing digimon turned more fully to face its new opponent, and with a gleeful cry it knelt down, exposing the harpoon canon on its back. With a blast, the harpoon shot out, but the dog digimon caught hold of it in its jaws and snapped it in two. Leaping up again, it slammed into its opponent and the two wrestled each other to the ground, Minami rolling out of her kidnapper's grasp in the struggle. Finally coming out on top, the dog bore its weight down on the scuba-gear digimon. Its eyes and paws took on a golden glow and the pinned digimon began to scream and struggle as a searing pain ripped through its body. With one final push, it burst into thousands of shards of data, leaving the dog digimon standing triumphantly on the beach while Minami looked on, shaking in terror. With a low, guttural growl, the large dog approached Minami and sniffed her feet, causing her to withdraw ever so slightly before finally climbing to her feet.

Minami stared at the digimon, her heart banging so hard in her chest that she almost didn't notice Kai until he suddenly drew to a halt next to her.

"Who's this?" the boy exclaimed in surprise at the newcomer. The dog digimon merely locked eyes with Minami, and for some strange reason, the girl found herself calming down a little. She couldn't explain it, but it felt to her as though she were looking into the eyes of an old friend.

"Mi…na…mi…" the digimon said slowly, as if speaking were difficult for it, before smiling at her.

Minami felt her heart skip a beat as she gazed into those sparkling orbs. She saw nothing but utter devotion in them, much like she saw in Mei when she had been alive.

_Could it… Could it be…? How does it know my name…?_

"What…? What do you want?" she whispered as Takato, Calumon and Guilmon came into view, the Tamer helping Kai's grandfather struggle along as he refused to be left behind. Seeing the scene, Takato was grateful to find that there was no more fighting going on, but…

_Who's that digimon?_ he wondered, taking out his digivice and running the scanning function again.

_No Data_ came the unexpected response.

"That's…unhelpful," he muttered before finding Wataru nearly slipping out of his grasp. Catching hold of him, Takato adjusted his grip for a firmer hold.

"Are you okay?" he asked, to which the man simply nodded. He most definitely did _not_ look fine, but stubbornness ran in the family. He refused to be left behind where his grandson's safety was concerned.

_Well, at least the new guy doesn't seem to be dangerous or anything, and Guilmon's not reacting to him, so that's a…_

Guilmon's sudden growl drew the boy's internal comments up short, but it wasn't directed at the dog. Instead his attention was focused on the surf, and no sooner was it so did a manta-shaped Armor level digimon that Takato immediately recognized as a Mantaraymon burst free, taking aim at Minami once more. Taking only a second to set Wataru down, Takato and Guilmon broke into a run to confront this newcomer. The dog digimon leapt up to defend, but the Mantaraymon slashed out with its tail, electricity crackling along its length and slammed it into the dog digimon's side, sending it crashing to the ground. Guilmon leapt up almost immediately, but the Armor gave him the same treatment. Leaping off, it dove down and slammed into Minami, taking her up onto its back and diving back in the direction of the water.

_"No!"_ Takato shouted as he leapt forward with surprising speed, grabbing at the Armor's tail. Electricity lit the limb back up and the next thing Takato knew was an intensely _horrible_ pain that caused his muscles to seize up. With a final, powerful whip, the Armor sent the goggle-wearing boy crashing into the ground with a loud cry and he curled up into a fetal position, his body becoming one giant knot of screaming agony. The dog digimon recovered quickly, making one final attempt to give chase, but almost immediately upon diving into the water…whatever power and grace it had before utterly failed it here, and it splashed uselessly against the crashing surf. It could only watch helplessly as the Mantaraymon disappeared over the horizon, leaving the dog to howl in outrage at its failure to safeguard the girl.

All this Calumon watched as he hovered over Takato's shaking body.

"Not good!" he cried softly in panic. "This is not good! I've got to go get help!"

With that, the tiny creampuff of a digimon turned and flew off in the direction of the one person he believed would be of help.

Rika Nonaka.


	79. Battle of Adventurers: Awaiting the Dawn

As they drew closer to Japan, the light of the rising sun graced Rumiko's still sleeping figure. Davis gazed at her before shifting in his seat uncomfortably. Across from him, Sora was sleeping now as well, leaving him alone with his thoughts.

_Man… We really have gone to different places in our lives,_ he thought, thinking back to that crazy time in high school, right before the war officially broke out when he and Rumiko had gotten together. Closing his eyes, he lost himself in the memories of the past.

**###**

"Hey," came the voice from behind him as Davis closed his locker. He spun around in surprise, his eyes landing on the light-haired girl, causing his shock to grow even wider.

"Ah! Rumiko!" he exclaimed, smacking his head against his locker with a loud _clang_ as he jumped back in surprise. The girl giggled at his antics.

"You can fight otherworldly monsters, but _I_ can take you by surprise?" she teased as he groaned, rubbing the back of his head. An apologetic look crossing her face, she took hold of the boy by the shoulders and suddenly turned him around. "Here. Let me see…"

"Uh… What…What are you doing?" Davis asked, feeling her fingers sort through the thick mess that was his hair.

"Just checking to make sure there are no bumps or bruises. Are you okay with that?"

"Um… Sure?" Davis replied, blushing in embarrassment. They _were_ friends after all, as she had ingratiated herself into his group for some reason despite not being a Digidestined, oftentimes providing snacks for the digimon, allowing Yolei's funds to recover from the task of having to constantly feed their partners every time they prepared to venture into the digital world. It was a strange affair, but no one voiced any concern as to why the most popular and beautiful girl in the school had joined them. In their eyes, as long as anyone who joined them didn't stir up trouble, there was little to be concerned about.

Rumiko hummed to herself for a moment before suddenly leaning in and kissing the top of Davis' head, causing him to blink and turn back around at her. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a passing student arch an eyebrow at this.

"Rumiko…?"

"I couldn't find anything, but I figured…might as well kiss it and make it better just to make sure, right?" She flashed him an easygoing grin before looping an arm around his. "Anyway, I had a question for you. You doing anything after practice?"

"Uh… Not…really?" Davis replied. "I mean, I've got some studying to do, but…"

"Perfect!" Rumiko chirped, pulling him along. "You can study with me then. My mom won't mind. She likes you. I mean, she likes _all_ of you Digidestined, but…" Rumiko flushed a little in her efforts to explain herself. "…well…I mean she won't mind if I bring you home with me _because_ she likes you."

"Oookay…?" Davis responded, still not quite understanding what was going on, but he shrugged mentally. If she wanted to hang out with him and get some studying done, what harm was there in that?

That had been how their relationship started. No fanfare or fireworks, though all of that came much late when the summer hit and the war began in earnest.

**###**

Davis was jolted out of his sleep as he felt an odd sensation about the plane, though he couldn't explain what it was. It felt as though it had…shifted a little.

"What's going on?" came Sora's slurred voice as she abruptly woke up as well, no doubt sensing the same thing as he did. Given her relationship with her partner, he suspected that, had she not already been in the throes of deep sleep, she would have become alert to it long before he.

"You felt it too, huh?" Davis asked, getting up from his seat.

"Excuse me, sir?" began a stewardess in a hushed voice as she approached, not wanting to disturb any of the sleeping passengers. "I'd like to request that you remain in your seat."

"Um…" Davis glanced over at Sora, who, after a moment's thought, nodded. "Sure," he acceded, sitting back down.

The stewardess looked relieved at this and continued on, checking on passengers to make sure none of them were disturbed. Davis followed her for a moment, old instincts starting to reassert themselves. That tense look in her eyes, and the fake smile she wore… He knew that look.

_Something's up,_ he thought as he exchanged looks with the Digidestined of Love. _It feels like we've gone off course or something._

**###**

Dawn broke over Shinjuku with a whisper as Rika patrolled the streets. Ken had _finally_ called her into action. Danger was afoot it seemed, and it was related to the V-Pet. He had explained it to her and her grandmother upon arriving at her home – cell phones apparently no longer being useful during the current situation.

Her job? Patrol around and deal with any digital disturbances where a digimon broke through into the real world.

_"So pretty much what I've already been doing, except now it's an order,"_ she had replied sarcastically, but otherwise more than welcomed the job.

If she couldn't beat up on Gogglehead and Dinoboy, she might as well have an excuse to beat up on _someone._

" _Rika,"_ came the voice of Renamon as she phased into view beside her. _"There's another digimon nearby. Another_ Nightmare Soldier."

"We can handle it," Rika smirked confidently.

Suddenly sewer covers blew off the streets as towers of water shot skyward. Her senses screamed an alarm as she recognized this particular digimon.

"Rika! Get out of here!" she exclaimed, starting forward and positioning herself in front of her partner as the water coalesced into a single form, ice blue with flame-like ripples rising from its body. Lips sewn shut turned into a grin as its eyes zeroed in on the vulpine digimon.

_BlueMeramon,_ Renamon thought, narrowing her eyes.

"An Ultimate level with ice-based attributes," Rika breathed, scanning the digimon quickly with her digivice before looking back up. "This is going to be interesting. Walk all over him, Renamon."

Renamon ran forward, not needing to be told twice and leapt into the air, preparing her attack. BlueMeramon however was ready for her, swiping his arms in a grand gesture. Renamon's eyes widened in shock as she drew toward the Ultimate, the air suddenly growing frigid around her. Ice clotted her fur, growing over her until she was covered in a single solid mass of it, weighing her down and locking her limbs together.

_"Renamon!"_ Rika shouted as her partner crashed to the ground, the ice shell shattering around her, causing her to cry out from the impact. She was dazed, and not from the landing as the ice had protected her well from that. No, it was the sudden _temperature changes_ that hit her now; first the extreme cold and then the _heat_ that assaulted her upon the breaking of the ice. Dizziness swamped her senses and she struggled to rally.

"Renamon…" BlueMeramon said, ice forming beneath his feet as he stalked toward her. "Say hello to IceDevimon for me when you join him in digital oblivion…"

_"Digi-modify!"_ came the shout of Rika, slashing a _Stamina_ card through her digivice to give her partner a boost.

**###**

_"There it is, Henry!"_ Terriermon exclaimed, bouncing up and down excitedly as the boat that would take them to visit Takato approached the dock. Suddenly rushing around his partner excitedly, he giggled. "We're going to see Takato!"

Taking note of Henry's lack of enthusiasm, he hopped up onto his shoulder, wrapping an arm-like ear around him.

"Aren't you excited?" he asked.

"Yeah," Henry replied distantly.

"Well, you'd never _know_ it!" Terriermon huffed.

"Sorry. It's just…we're not exactly going over there for a social call now," Henry continued. "You know what Ken said."

"Well, yeah, but that doesn't mean we can't be happy to see our friends. Especially if they're getting through this okay. Sheesh, Henry! Momentai already!"

The front of the boat, as it approached, suddenly exploded, punctuating Terriermon's advise with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer. Henry stared at it in shock, wondering if anyone inside was all right before realizing that he simply did not have the luxury of contemplating the fate of the crew and any potential passengers as the boat was barreling toward him. Turning on his heel, he immediately began running, but it was too late. The boat plowed into the dock and detonated, sending Henry careening to the ground with a cry, Terriermon flying off him. The shattered remains of the boat burned as Henry recovered, his eyes stinging from the smoke.

"Oh no…" he murmured. "All those people… This…"

"Henry!" cried Terriermon as the remnants of the boat shifted and split apart, revealing a towering, crustacean-like creature, swinging massive claws. With a deft strike, it crushed the boat and heaved its massive form onto the broken dock.

_A digimon…_ Henry thought in dismay and horror.

It _tsked_ upon seeing Henry and Terriermon.

"I attacked too soon," it said. "I'll correct that now."

With a loud roar, it began its attack.

**###**

Things were not going well, that much Rika was certain. The BlueMeramon fought back readily despite the Hyper Chip and Hyper speed cards Rika slashed hastily. Renamon was lithe and fast moving, but the Ultimate was keeping up with her with little trouble.

The only thing that Rika was sure kept them in the game was that this BlueMeramon was decidedly _not_ of the Virus variety, otherwise the type advantage would have put them down by now and ended the battle.

_Not unless he's toying with us,_ she thought, searching her deck box for a new card to help her. A digivolution card. She needed…

_…a card I don't have,_ she cursed, remembering that she never added the card to her Taming deck, as it never worked for her previously and Renamon always managed to digivolve without it.

_I've got to make Renamon digivolve or else we're going to get crushed!_ she thought, fanning through her deck for _something_ that would be of use to her.

_"Diamond Storm!"_ Renamon shouted, flinging her arms wide, sending an explosive hail of crystalline shards at BlueMeramon. They detonated upon impact, but the power of the Ultimate was such that it barely felt them, and quickly replied in kind with a powerful gust of searing, ice-cold wind that caught Renamon in its grasp, sending her crashing to the ground once again, knocking the wind out of her.

_"Renamon!"_ Rika shouted, running toward her, only for BlueMeramon to spot her and growl menacingly.

"No more Digimon Queen," he howled, shooting toward her. Rika gasped upon seeing his charge and froze in place, the image of Gargomon's gun barrels pointed directly at her from all those weeks ago coming suddenly to mind. Renamon, however, moved for her, and knocked her to the side just in time for BlueMeramon to crush the kitsune to the wall of a building. Ice froze around her, clawing at her fur, trapping her in place and preventing her from falling once more…for but a moment as her bodyweight proved to be too much for it to bear. Shattering, Renamon slumped forward and collapsed, the fight taken completely out of her now.

Rika struggled to her feet and gasped as BlueMeramon again towered over her partner.

"No…" she whispered, clutching in pain at her stomach, the wind having been knocked out of her. "Get up… Fight…"

A glow began to emerge from her digivice as BlueMeramon raised a hand to finish Renamon off…the same light that was growing around the kitsune digimon.

**###**

"Henry, look out!" shouted Terriermon, leaping into the air as the Ebidramon charged toward them. Not needing to be told twice, Henry ducked and rolled to the side, hands already searching for his digivice while Terriermon ran interference.

_"Bunny Blast!"_ Terriermon shouted, sending a stream of energy pellets crashing into Ebidramon's armored head. However, the Champion, undaunted, roared and drove on ahead. Gawking in surprise, Terriermon leapt over him, only to be struck by the Champion's shell as it snapped up at him. He rebounded off the dock just in time for Henry to rise up, digivolution card and digivice in hand.

He quickly slashed it through the slot on his digivice, and at once a shell of data surrounded the Rookie.

_"Terriermon, digivolve tooo… Gargomon!"_

The shell shattered and Gargomon jumped back, narrowly avoiding Ebidramon's claws as they struck the ground where he stood. Bringing his gun barrels to bear, he immediately began firing a torrent of emerald lasers, sending the crustacean crashing to the ground with a cry, its armor sizzling as the lasers punched holes through it with deadly accuracy. Not willing to give up, the Ebidramon dove forward again. If it could just close the distance, it could end this battle, rending and tearing with its fangs and claws…

Gargomon was more than ready for him as he slammed his gun-barrels into Ebidramon's chin in a deadly uppercut, lasers blazing at point blank range. With a shriek of pain, the Champion's body erupted into a shower of shining data that floated skyward and evaporated.

"That's right!" Gargomon cried triumphantly. "Who's the mon?"

"Don't feel too proud just yet," Henry said, his eyes turning to the flaming wreckage of the boat. His grey eyes twisted as he saw something floating amidst it. He couldn't be sure what it was without taking a closer look, but he suspected at the bottom of his heart, that that blackened shape was…human.

"Henry…" began Gargomon softly, only to be interrupted by a crackling of lightning from the sky.

"What _now?!"_ Gargomon shouted as the two spun around, only to be met by a column of light shooting down on them.

**###**

The shell surrounding Kyubimon exploded, and at once she dashed forward, landing on BlueMeramon's shoulders and knocking him over. Rolling to the side, the ice digimon snarled and thrust his arms forward, sending out a blast of icy wind that narrowly missed the quadruped digimon. Spinning around, Kyubimon's nine tails spread out, and the fires at their tips brightened.

_Perfect,_ Rika thought, sliding another Hyper Chip card through her digivice to help finish the job.

_"Fox Tail Inferno!"_

Fox fires lit up around the BlueMeramon, who blinked in confusion at what was going on. Before he even had time to react, the fires struck, burning him with such intensity that his data dissolved and broke apart, scattering to the winds.

Relaxing her stance, Kyubimon turned toward Rika as the girl pumped a fist into the air triumphantly. Their _first_ victory over an Ultimate level digimon!

_Looks like all of our training is paying off,_ the Digimon Queen grinned before movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. A small, creampuff digimon with wide ears holding him aloft.

"Calumon!" she said, surprised at seeing him. She frowned a little, noting that he looked exhausted. "What are you doing here?"

"Takato's in trouble! It's bad! It's really bad! It's…"

With a cry, Calumon's ears lilted and he fell out of the air. Gasping, Rika caught him in her hands and drew him up so she could get a better look at him. She could feel his digi-core beating at a rapid pace inside his tiny body. He was trembling all over, greatly distressed.

"Bad…" he continued to cry, gesticulating wildly with his tiny arms. "We tried calling you and left a message and then digimon started attacking and…"

_Left me a message?_ Rika blushed lightly, suddenly remembering the voicemail that she ignored yesterday. _Could that have been it?_

"Calm down," she said in a gentle voice, trying to sooth the tiny digimon. "Tell me what happened."

Calumon didn't get a chance to explain anything however, as a light fell over them from the sky, lightning crackling violently around the column of light. Seeing this, Kyubimon hurried over to protect her Tamer.

"What's going on _now?"_ Rika growled heatedly, pulling Calumon close to her protectively.

_"Rika… Kyubimon…"_ came a voice from the column of light. _"Come with me. The Digidestined need your help!"_

"What's going…?" Rika began as their bodies began to glow. Rika's vision of the world receded, and when it snapped back into view, she found the armored figure of Omnimon towering over her. Gasping, she pulled Calumon closer to her while tightening her grip on her digivice.

"Rika?" came a familiar voice from off to her side.

Blinking, Rika turned to find a pair of equally familiar face standing next to her, one of them saluting her with a gun barrel.

"Henry? Gargomon? What are you guys doing here?"

"We did it!" a man cried triumphantly, getting up from his spot behind them, laptop glowing brightly with the forces behind it. "It worked!"

"Who…?"

"That'd be Izzy," said a brown-haired man, approaching them. "Digidestined of Knowledge. I'm Tai Kamiya and over there…" He gestured to a blond-haired man from by Omnimon's leg, arms folded over his chest.

"Matt!" Rika exclaimed, just barely keeping herself from running over to him. "Where have you been?! Sora's been worried sick about you!"

"Hey Rika," Matt nodded in greeting before glowering at Tai. _"She's_ the one you were talking about? The…?"

"The Princess, yes," Tai interrupted. "Let's not…"

"Wait! Hold on!" Rika cut in. _"Princess?!_ What is going on here?"

"I'm pretty sure if you let them talk they'd tell you," Gargomon quipped, earning him a fierce glare from the Digimon Queen. Tai sighed.

"Look, we don't have a lot of time to explain. Right now, a friend of yours needs our help in Okinawa and we have to get there as quickly as possible. I'll explain along the way, all right?"

_Friend in Okinawa…?_ Rika turned back toward Tai. "You mean Takato?"

"Duh!" This from Gargomon again. "What other friends do you have down there? Wait, Takato's your friend?"

_"Zip it,_ Rabbitmon!" Rika growled, and this time her baleful glare actually caused the Champion to visibly _flinch._

"Sorry," he mumbled. "Sheesh. And here I didn't think you liked the guy…"

_Oh for…_ Rika thought in exasperation, thinking of her meeting with Takato's parents. This _again?_

"Save it for later," Henry said, stepping between the two. "Rika, Gargomon and I are going to help Takato. Are you coming or not?"

"Like _that_ even needs an answer?" Rika snapped irritably, walking over to Kyubimon and climbing onto her back. It was awkward at first, but she quickly found a spot she was comfortable with. "We save the Gogglehead and then I chew him out for making me come and get him! Stupid…"

Looks were exchanged all around, but Tai shrugged.

"Works for me. Let's do it, Omnimon!"

"All aboard the Omnimon express," the Royal Knight declared, bowing to readmit the humans onto his shoulders.


	80. Battle of Adventurers: Journey to War's End

Impmon stood atop the roof, watching the chaos in the city below. To say things were 'interesting' was a bit of an understatement, as multiple accidents had occurred, injuring many. Tempers were flaring as a result, forcing the Japanese government to act in order to regain stability. Nonetheless, this stability, he understood, was tentative and certain to be fleeting as sparks of electricity danced from one place to another. There were screams of surprise emanating from homes where this occurred, and in some cases, ones of terror as well.

Impmon tried not to dwell too much on what was going on and instead returned his focus on finding something to eat and then, Yggdrasil willing, something to entertain him.

"Look at this puny humans," he muttered, hopping away from the scene and striding away on the ledge, hands folded behind his head. "All it took was one little virus and ba-boom! Everything's gone nuts! And Apocalymon wanted to have one of them as a Nightmare Soldier?" Making a disgusted sound, he sneered down at the crowds of humans below. "Give me a break! There's nothing to be gained from… Hah?"

A glow from just below him caught his attention, and then a digimon with a wild, flower-face and wearing a stylistic, bright-red uniform that ran from its legs and ended with sharp, pronounced shoulders. It bore three masks of white with red, fang-like outlines along its faces, two of which were on its hands, flanked by flower petals.

 _"Kabukimon?!"_ Impmon exclaimed, nearly falling off the ledge in startlement.

"Impmon," the Armor turned and greeted with a polite bow, hovering in midair. "It is unfortunate for you that I found you here upon my bio-emerging. My orders are to destroy everything that I see… Including you."

Impmon's eyes bulged in their sockets. "You whaaa…?!"

With a ferocious battle cry, the Armor lunged toward Impmon. The Rookie barely had enough time to snap out of his stupor and launch himself out of the way, narrowly avoiding being turned into dust, just like the ledge he had been on a second ago.

"Hey!" he exclaimed loudly. "What's the big idea?! Orders or no orders, I'm on _your_ _side,_ remember?!"

"You left us," Kabukimon stated simply, turning back toward him, removing a flowered mask from the broken ruins of the ledge. "And I have my orders."

Impmon paled for a moment as he landed atop the roof with a _plop._ Kabukimon…was going to kill him?

_But…But… We were on the same side!_

"It's no use, running, Impmon," Kabukimon's voice came as he rose up over the roof. "Don't make this harder than it has to be."

Impmon suddenly felt a stirring of rage at this, and fires lit up along his fingertips.

"Don't make it hard?" he spat angrily. "And here I thought you always wanted a chance to show off no matter how tough things were! If this is how it's going to end for me then _fine!_ But you're going to have to _earn_ it! _Bada Boom!"_

Flinging his hands, he let loose a torrent of fire at Kabukimon, who deftly dodged them and charged again. Impmon leapt over him, once more narrowly avoiding his attack before landing. Raising his hands, he held one to his forehead in concentration with the other out in front of him.

 _I need just a second here…_ he thought before bringing his other hand down to its twin. After a moment, a swirling cloud of smoke appeared in front of him. Suddenly throwing his hands over his head, a massive fireball as large as his body tore free from the smoke.

 _"Infernal funnel fire!"_ he shouted before launching it at Kabukimon just as he spun around. The fireball surged toward him and struck him full in the face, detonating with tremendous force. Kabukimon cursed as he crashed to the ground, and swiftly rolled to his feet, his mask cracked and smoking, but otherwise he was unharmed.

Of Impmon, there was no sign.

Running over to the edge of the roof, he swung his head around, searching for the Rookie, only to find nothing. After a moment, he _harrumphed._

"Hide while you can, Impmon. You'll join the rest of this pitiful world soon enough."

With that, he launched himself back into the air and began to rain an attack on the human populace below.

Impmon watched him from his spot inside the broken apartment window, having jumped over the ledge and used it to swing himself inside almost immediately upon launching his attack. It caused his digital blood to boil, engaging in such a shameful act, but there was nothing to be done. The Armor was just too strong for him to contend with as he was now.

 _There's going to be more of them emerging, and they'll probably all want a piece of me,_ he thought. _This is just great… Fantastic. What a way to start the day._

Shaking his head, Impmon tracked Kabukimon before launching himself away to somewhere that was relatively…safer and out of harm's way.

**###**

Digital code and random bits of data flew by as Omnimon and his passengers traversed digital space. Rika payed little attention to it however, her thoughts distracted by what lay ahead. By what she might find.

Raising her cell phone for what felt like the millionth time since they began their journey, she bit her lower lip, feeling a touch of worry at the voice mail that she still had not listened to since getting it yesterday. Too suspicious to listen to it; too uncaring to bother deleting it.

Squirming slightly, she looked over her shoulder to find Henry eyeing her curiously.

"Well? What?" she demanded heatedly before Henry shrugged.

"Sorry. You looked upset about something."

"It's nothing you need to be concerned about," she frowned, turning away. _Stupid… It's just a voicemail. What are you getting all worked up for?_

Finally deciding to bite the bullet, she hit the play button and held it up to her ear.

She felt her heart drop like a stone upon confirming her worst suspicions with the sound of Takato's voice.

" _Rika, it's Takato. Hey, um… I know this is going to sound crazy, but a wild digimon attacked someone around here, and I was hoping if you could let Ken know for me in case that's…you know…not normal for Okinawa. I…ah…can't reach him at the moment. Anyway, I hope you're doing all right and I'll catch you when I get back."_ There was a light laugh on the other end that spoke of nerves, causing Rika to frown ever so slightly more than she did earlier. _"I promise, I'm staying in practice and Kai's grandfather is starting to teach me martial…"_

The message ended there, leaving Rika to glare at her phone as she lowered it back down.

 _I ignored this,_ she thought quietly to herself, a touch of frustration making itself known in her heart. _I ignored this and now who knows what kind of trouble that Gogglehead has gotten himself into._

Concern for someone who wasn't in her family wasn't something she was used to. Sora, Matt and Biyomon were exceptions as she knew them from when she was a child, but someone like Takato? A Gogglehead who tripped over his own shadow at seemingly every opportunity?

Her face scrunched up with worry all the same and she tightened her grip on her phone.

 _Hang in there,_ she found herself thinking, much to her surprise. _We're almost there…_

"Rika?" came the call of Matt's voice from Omnimon's shoulder. "Are you listening?"

"Huh? What?" Rika blinked, blushing lightly, suddenly finding herself feeling a little bit like the boy she worried over as her attention had lapsed.

"A digimon named Mephistomon has entered the real world to try and destroy it," Omnimon explained before Matt could say anything more. "But I cannot leave this dimension so it's up to _you_ to defeat him! I just hope we're not too late… Huh?"

Omnimon's words halted in their tracks as his eyes caught sight of something coming toward them. Something _big._

It was dinosaur-like in appearance, with dull-grey scales and metal wires sprouting from its flesh. A metal jaw jutted forth from its neck, and its hands glowed with an ominous red light. Rika recognized it immediately, as did Kyubimon.

"MetalTyrannomon…" the kitsune said aloud. "He's one of the Nightmare Soldier's rearguard!"

"He attacked us too when we were in the digital world," Tai nodded in memory. "But this time we're ready. Omnimon!"

 _"Look out!"_ the Mega shouted as the MetalTyrannomon thrust an arm forward and shot forth an intense laser beam that caught Omnimon in the stomach. Rika grated her teeth as she tightened her grip on Kyubimon's ribbons, preventing herself from crying out. Her eyes flashed as she turned her eyes toward their opponent, one hand going to her digivice.

It was time to fight.

Omnimon, however, moved quickly and rushed to meet MetalTyrannomon. A sword blade snapped out of the Greymon arm and with a single, swift stroke, he cut the Ultimate in half, causing it to detonate with explosive force.

"That's over with," he muttered, returning to their course. Rika could only stare at the Royal Knight in awe. MetalTyrannomon was extremely powerful for an Ultimate. To see it destroyed so effortlessly was nothing short of amazing. At the same time however, it was sobering, remembering their brief scuffle with Mephistomon in the real world.

"He's so powerful! If _he's_ worried about that digimon, this is going to be tough!"

Her eyes setting themselves into firm determination, she tightened her grasp on Kyubimon.

 _Takato… Don't you do anything stupid before we find you,_ she thought.

**###**

"You really shouldn't go charging at digimon like that," Kai admonished as he finished bandaging up Takato's arm.

"Um… No offense, but I don't think any of us are really in a position to argue about that," the boy replied with a slight frown, flexing the limb to test Kai's first aid. The Mantaraymon had done quite a number on him, and it took a while until he was able to move again. As it stood, he was shaky, but otherwise able to get moving, which they needed to direly. "Anyway," he continued, getting up from his spot by the remains of their campfire from the day before. "I don't think you should come with me."

Now it was Kai's turn to scowl at him as he got up and followed after him. "What about you?"

"I'm a digimon _Tamer,"_ Takato replied, to which Kai chuckled.

"Well, duh," he winked. "I kind of figured that when I saw the digimon."

"Kai… Seriously, this is dangerous. Not to mention your grandfather got hurt last night."

"He'll be okay," Kai protested. "And I know how dangerous it is. I kind of saw that, remember? I just bandaged you up. But I can't just sit around while you handle everything by yourself! You need someone to drive the boat if you're going after Minami anyway, right? You're a Tamer, but that doesn't mean I can't help too, okay?"

Takato sighed mentally as they drew close to the boat, not liking the predicament he was in. All communications were down, meaning he couldn't contact Ken and call for backup. He was stuck on his own with Guilmon and the strange dog digimon that his digivice identified as Seasarmon – a virtual unknown type, much like Guilmon had been with no data available. The only way he had to go after the Mantaraymon – assuming he could find it at all – was to travel by boat.

Like Kai, he had to do _something._ He couldn't just sit back and do nothing.

 _Like Rika said,_ he thought to himself. _A Tamer never walks away from danger._

Finally, deciding that Kai made sense in that it was better to accept what help he could get than to argue, he nodded and smiled at his cousin.

"Okay."

At that, Kai grinned and winked. "Excellent."

Clapping hands together companionably, the two boys climbed aboard their boat, where Guilmon and Seasarmon awaited. Turning, Guilmon jumped over to greet them, rocking the boat in the process and nearly causing the two to fall over as their balance was upset.

"Hey, Guilmon," Takato greeted as the rocking died down and indicated Seasarmon. "So…?"

"I found out his name is Seasarmon," Guilmon replied.

"Uh… Thanks, but we already knew that." Takato tilted his head at his partner before glancing over at the dog digimon. "Aw nuts. We're right back to where we started from."

"Wait a second," began Kai as a flicker of memory came to mind. "I remember."

"Huh?"

"Back when we were jumped by that diver digimon… Now that I think about it…he seemed to have come out of that computer."

"Seriously?" Takato asked, glancing over at Seasarmon. _It couldn't be… Could he…?_

The thought rolled around in his mind for a moment before he turned back toward the shore and began climbing out of the boat. "Maybe we should go get it then!"

"Takato, we kind of need to get going. Besides, for all we know, the computer could have had a digi-gate or something. Didn't they use to have those?"

"Uh… Well, they were all closed…" Takato scratched the side of his face before rejoining Kai. "But you're right. We _do_ need to get going. It might be better to leave it here anyway. In case something happens to us, at least there'll be _something_ that the Digidestined can use once your grandfather can call out again."

 _If he can call out,_ he thought, but he quickly brushed it aside. Now was not the time to be second guessing himself when they needed to rescue Minami.

"The only question is how we're going to find the digimon," Kai pointed out. "I'm pretty sure Guilmon's nose is wasted out here. Does your digivice have some kind of detector thing in there that can help?"

"Well, it does, but it hasn't picked up anything like that," Takato admitted. This was the crux of their current predicament. He had declared he would be heading out to find Minami, but it seemed he had thought no further ahead than blindly boating around and hoping they bump into a clue along the way. "I think it only works for bio-emergences and…huh?"

Takato raised an eyebrow suddenly as its holographic compass rose up from its screen, swinging wildly for a moment before pointing dead ahead.

"Well… I guess that gives us something to start with," Takato nodded.

"It's better than nothing," Kai added, starting the motor, and with that they headed off.

The day warmed as the sun traced its path along the sky, but for the next hour or so they saw little to no sign of anything save for the direction that the digivice pointed to, for once being less than uncertain about the course to take. Soon however, they began to take notice of a fog bank in the distance, causing Takato's skin to prickle in response.

"A digital field all the way out here?" he wondered aloud before turning to Guilmon. "What do you make of it boy?"

"I can't smell anything yet," Guilmon replied, though his irises had dilated. "But there's definitely something there. Something _powerful."_

"Well… Great," Takato said, adjusting his goggles and looking down at his digivice. He could feel himself tensing up once more, wondering if this was a good idea.

_Well… At the very least, it shouldn't hurt too much to at least scout out the situation first…_

Drawing nearer, they found that they were approaching an island of some kind, and Kai marveled at it.

"There's nothing on the maps that says there's anything like this out here," he breathed, taking in its cliffs as they entered the fog. He jerked suddenly, finding his eyes tingling a little, as though there was an electrical charge in the air. "What the…?"

Takato pulled down his goggles. "That's the digital field's effect," he told his cousin. "Don't worry. It won't last long. I'll guide you. Just keep us going straight ahead."

"That sounds easy enough," Kai nodded as they continued to make their way through the mist. "What do you think, Takato? Do you think this place came from the digital world?"

"I don't know," Takato replied, continuing to keep an eye on their course. "I've never seen or heard anything like this before. This is really weird. Maybe it's just a regular digital field over an island that wasn't discovered before?"

"It's doesn't smell like Kai's place or home," Guilmon chimed in. "I've never smelled the digital world before, but it's… I don't know. It's a little bit like all the power lines? Or your digivice?"

"So…digital world then," Takato said. "Wow… I… This is…kind of cool. Or…well, it would be if we didn't have some kind of weird conspiracy going on."

"The tingling's gone," Kai announced. "Okay, I can see again, but there's still a lot of fog. I'll try to get us closer. Are we where we need to be for sure?"

Checking his digivice, Takato nodded. "Digital X marks the spot," he said. "I guess we can stop here and search for clues."

_It's better than sailing around aimlessly and this is the best clue that we have so far._

It was quite curious as to how an entire digital island got here without anyone noticing. Distantly, he wondered if it had anything to do with the loss of communications.

He turned his thoughts away to the more pressing issue of trying to find a spot for them to anchor at. Raising his goggles, he peered through the fog, finding little else but fog and high cliffs.

"There must be a hidden cave we can use," Takato said aloud as he stood up. "If we can just find it… There! Kai, turn here!"

"Got it!"

Slowing down, Kai angled their boat into a gap in the rock and they slid on in, losing themselves in the dimly lit cave. Takato and Kai glanced around them uncertainly, while Seasarmon stared straight ahead unflinchingly, as still as a statue as he had been since they began their journey.

"Oh no," Kai groaned after several minutes had passed. "It's a dead end. I'll turn us around."

The boat began to swivel around, but no sooner did they do so, did a pair of massive hands erupt from the water and grab hold of Seasarmon's head, yanking him down beneath the water with a surprised shout. Guilmon and the two boys cried out in surprise as the boat rocked, the water becoming _immensely_ rocky.

Suddenly a tentacle rose up from beneath the water, and with a powerful swipe, they found themselves thrown into the air, grasping at nothing reflexively before crashing into the water. Cold invaded Takato's body in one mad rush, but before he could even finish sinking beneath the water, the boat came crashing down on him, smacking him in the head with a heavy _thud,_ sending him into darkness. Seeing this, Kai grabbed hold of him and began to propel them back toward the surface while Guilmon peered around, his eyes picking up movement in spite of how dark it was. His ears twitched, detecting a high, keening sound and he found Mantaraymon fast approaching him.

There was a red crackle of electricity and a surge of energy shot past the reptile, narrowly missing him. Swimming rapidly, Guilmon closed the distance and slashed out with his claws just as Mantaraymon's tail shone and whipped him. Their two attacks connected and there followed a sudden explosion in the water, causing Guilmon to cry out in pain as he clutched at his sides.

 _Not good,_ Kai thought, seeing Guilmon disappear in the cloud behind them, still taking them to the surface. Takato hung limply in his arms, and Kai felt his heart clench fearfully at the dark cloud he saw pouring from his head. He knew what that was. Blood.

 _No!_ he cried out mentally, but before he could say or do anything else, light suddenly shone on Takato's chest; the spot where he kept his digivice secured by an old shoelace. The light grew, and within the cloud where Guilmon lay, his body took on the same light and began to grow.

_"Guilmon, digivolve tooo… Growlmon!"_

Announcing his digivolution, the massive, white-haired dinosaur charged once more at Mantaraymon, and a blade on his arm snapped out, glowing with a bright, electric blue.

 _"Dragon slash!"_ he shouted as Mantaraymon circled back around, firing again with his red energy blast. Growlmon, despite his larger size, deftly dodged the attack and cut at the Armor with his arm blade, and this time Mantaraymon burst apart with a fiery explosion, his data shattering into pieces.

 _That's one problem out of the way,_ was all Kai had time to think before the force of the blast caught both himself and Takato up in a surge of water, and in the next moment the pair found themselves expelled back out into fresh air before crashing back down.

"Takato!" Kai called out, bursting back out from the water. He found his cousin quickly enough, having been jolted back awake. Blood streamed down the side of his face more freely, and he looked a little startled, as if wondering where he was. "Takato! Are you okay?"

"Huh? Ah… Y-Yeah! I think so…" Blinking blearily, he looked around. "Where…Where _are_ we?"

Kai was about to answer, only to stop and hesitate when he saw they were surrounded on all sides by a room full of metal and pipes, so much so that he had the distinct impression they were in some kind of fortress from a science fiction movie. High above was a gangway spreading in four directions.

"Wow… Check it out," Kai breathed in amazement before the water rose suddenly and Growlmon's head burst free.

"Whoa!" Kai exclaimed, finally taking in the extent of Guilmon's transformation. "Your partner's all grown up!"

"Growlmon, you okay?"

"Yeah," Growlmon nodded before taking note of the blood that trailed down Takato's face. A fat drop clung to his chin before dropping down into the water with a _plink._

"Takato…" he began, only to be interrupted by a shrill cry. Looking up, he saw a giant turtle with curved blades for flippers come shrieking down toward them from the gangway. A crimson glow lit up around the corners of his mouth and Growlmon reared his head back.

 _"Pyro blaster!"_ he shouted, firing a massive fireball that caught the turtle full in the face, devastating it and reducing its body into innumerable shards of data.

"You _rock!"_ Kai exclaimed as Takato looked around, realizing they were short one member of their team.

"Wait, where's Seasarmon?"

"Don't worry guys," Growlmon boomed. "He can take care of himself."

As if to prove his point, the water violently burst and the dog-digimon shot out, spinning in midair before landing on the floor by the entrance, red data evaporating from his jaws, victorious against the digimon that had dared ensnare him.

"Told ya!" Growlmon chirped as he helped Takato and Kai out of the water. Splashing down, Takato wiped at his injury and winced at the blood on his hand before shrugging.

"All right," he began. "It looks like we're in the right place, so…I guess we just start looking around and see what we come up against."

At his words, a rocket launcher suddenly opened up on the gangway above them.

 _Oh… Nuts…_ was all the goggle-wearing boy could think a split second before the launcher began firing.


	81. Battle of Adventurers: Truth Revealed

Ryuuji Tamashiro folded his hands together as he gazed at the three cameras. On one hand were the remainder of the Nightmare Soldiers that he sent after Takehito Uehara, arriving with the man in question. In the middle lay his daughter, Minami; insurance and pressure to make certain that Takehito would cooperate. Finally, on the other was Takato Matsuki, Growlmon, and an unknown, though vaguely familiar boy. Leaning forward, he gazed at him before recognition came to mind.

"Ah… Yes. You were with the Hazard Tamer when he arrived in Okinawa. You're not in my database with regards to Digidestined and Tamers… You're just human."

Satisfied that he had only the Hazard Tamer to be concerned about, he shifted his attention over to the camera with Takehito. The three Nightmare Soldiers had him overlooking his daughter now to show him what was at stake if he didn't cooperate. He glanced back at the image of Takato and Growlmon as they now fended off a series of rocket launchers.

_I still have time,_ he thought. _All I need is the vaccine._

Getting up from his chair, he adjusted his shirt and smiled. "Time to go put on a show," he said.

**###**

Takehito gasped upon finding his daughter lying on the floor down below him, and for the briefest of moments he completely forgot about the digimon behind him.

_"Minami!"_ he shouted, slamming his hands upon the glass window. At his voice, the girl stirred and sat up, looking confused and exhausted.

Takehito's heart clenched in his chest, thinking about what these digimon could have done to her just to bring her to this place.

_"Where… Where am I?"_ he heard her say – the room making it as easy as possible for him to hear his daughter's voice, no doubt specifically for his 'benefit' – before continuing in a louder voice as she looked up, spotting him. _"Dad…? Dad!"_

"Minami!" he called out again, but before he could say anything more – ask her how she was doing, if she was all right – he heard noise behind him from the digimon, and then Ryuuji was there, slamming his back into the window in a half mad panic.

_"Get away from me!"_ he shouted, his voice cracking in fear at the four digimon that stood in front of him, laughing at the helplessness of the two humans. Takehito glared at them, his eyes sliding from a cactus wearing what appeared to be a Mexican hat and a poncho; a bat with sickles in place of hands and feet; an ape wearing a long, colorful mask that stretched down to its feet; and finally, a beastly-looking man with a demonic-looking mask. Great horns erupted from its skull and a red cape flowed down over its green shirt and pants. This last had a sense of authority about it, and Takehito immediately saw it as the leader of the group.

"Takehito, what in the world is going _on_ around this place?!" Ryuuji rasped, struggling to maintain control of himself. Turning around so as to face the digimon more fully, he ground his teeth together.

"These digimon are after me. They're using you and my daughter as leverage."

"What do you mean?" Ryuuji said, turning toward him in shock. Takehito glanced away guiltily.

"This is my fault," he continued. "I never should have created the V-Pet."

The tall, caped digimon – Baromon, if Takehito remembered correctly from the brief, hushed conversations between the four – gave a dark chuckle and stomped toward them.

"All right. Hand over the vaccine," he demanded.

"Vaccine?" Takehito arched an eyebrow. "What's he talking about?"

"I devised a vaccine program," Takehito replied. "It can stop these guys."

"Hand it over before something happens to your daughter," Baromon persisted, causing Takehito's eyes to widen, gasping fearfully.

_"Dad! What's going on?"_

Hearing her voice, the man spun around and pressed his hands against the window. _"Minami!"_

As if at some signal, holes in the walls surrounding the girl opened up and a series of globes emerged from them. Spinning around, they sighted upon the girl and a red laser shot forth, blazing a path toward her, only stopping short of the girl as she jumped back, shouting in surprise. More lasers joined in, forcing Minami to back up against the wall behind her, scorching it.

_"Minami!"_ Takehito yelled, pounding on the window as she screamed in fear. With a roar of rage, Takehito leapt at the four digimon, punching the cactus-poncho digimon – Ponchomon – out of the way. While it didn't hurt, the sheer suddenness of the attack, coupled with its ferocity, was more than enough to send it crashing to the ground.

Baromon, however, was not so caught off guard, and with a single, simple punch of his own, he sent Takehito careening back toward Ryuuji, who ran over to him.

"Takehito!" he exclaimed, dropping down beside him. "Are you okay?"

Baromon gave a mocking laugh at the fallen human, fully expecting that it wouldn't be long now before the vaccine would be surrendered.

_Pathetic humans… They worry so much about those that are helpless instead of fighting for themselves. It's no wonder that they fall so easily to one such as I…that they need to enslave other digimon to give them aid! This one and his daughter… They are helpless. There will be no one to…_

The room shook with a ferocious explosion, causing him to look up in surprise.

"What's that?" he asked as more explosions soon followed.

**###**

_"Growlmon! Get the launcher!"_ Takato shouted as everyone ran to keep ahead of the rockets as they soared through the air, detonating and sending shrapnel flying in every direction. Takato bit back a cry as something hot and very much metal flung by him with blinding speed, narrowly avoiding taking out his eye in the process. He shut it out before the knowledge of his near death could hit him. They had work to do.

Growlmon was more than happy to obey as he ground to a halt, taking a couple rockets in the process, before rearing up and firing a ball of fire directly at the launchers on the gangway above them. The fireball struck it and detonated, ending the rocket fire and causing the gangway to crumble like tissue paper and collapse to the water entrance below. Takato and Kai raised their hands reflexively as the remaining munitions exploded within their compartments, and looking again, they saw the remains of the entrance start to cave in, and water began to flood up into the room.

The two boys looked at each other, both realizing what was going on.

"Time to go!" Kai shouted and with nothing more to be said they both took off at a run, Growlmon and Seasarmon right behind them. Pipes began to burst all around them, and now those thoughts reemerged with a vengeance in Takato's mind.

_We could die here,_ he thought, wiping at his head wound once more. _We might really die here…_

His feet pounded the floor with even greater force and his lungs drew in even _more_ air to facilitate the increased effort.

_We_ won't _die!_ he thought with growing determination, blotting out the explosions behind him. _We won't! I refuse to let it happen! We'll find a way! We'll rescue Minami and go home! Nothing's going to…_

Another explosion, and Takato coughed as they ran full tilt into a cloud of black smoke. Coughing, Takato pressed onward, hoping that wasn't a bad sign.

**###**

The laser barrage had ended, as had her father's cries, leaving Minami alone in the room. With a loud sob, she fell to her knees, clasping her hands in front of her as the hopelessness of her situation overwhelmed her. Shaking, she turned to an old habit of hers… One she turned to for comfort ever since her mother died.

She prayed. She didn't know to who or to what…or if it was to anything really. Faith in another world…or even that of gods…never quite meant much to her, yet there were times, in her most private of moments, where she would pray, if only to have _something_ – some kind of _hope_ – to hold onto when there was nothing left.

She searched inside her for that small warmth of hope that gave her light in the darkness, and, quite to her surprise, a name escaped her lips.

_"Seasarmon…"_

**###**

_"Wait!"_ Seasarmon growled, suddenly drawing to a halt.

"What?!" Kai exploded, flustered. "What, are you nuts?! Why…?!"

Seasarmon's growl drowned him out and he zeroed in on a door. He could have sworn that he heard Minami calling… Calling his name…

_"There!"_ he roared, bounding off toward it. His body glowing, he bowed his head and slammed his horned head into the door, shattering it completely, revealing a startled Minami cowering against the wall. His aura receding, Seasarmon smiled – as best as he could with his gaping maw – and their eyes met.

Minami shook as she looked at the white-furred digimon, taken aback at his sudden arrival…almost immediately when she had called to him!

And she had… In some way, for some reason she didn't understand, she had _called_ to him! This strange digimon that she knew nothing about, yet for some reason came from her computer and seemed to want to protect her at all costs.

"Seasarmon…" she whispered, but the moment was gone almost as quickly as it came, as the ball turrets zeroed in on the dog-digimon, lasers firing. With a roar, Seasarmon leapt up and bounded along the walls, deftly evading the blasts with almost contemptuous ease. He raced from one to the next, shattering them with his feet until, finally, on the last one, he broke it out of its holding just as it fired, and the laser surged upward, shattering the glass above. As it rained down, Baromon approached, his face a portrait of fury at this interruption. With a grunt, he leapt into the room to deal with this situation personally. He fell toward Seasarmon, his foot narrowly missing him as it crunched into the wall just as the dog rebounded to the floor. With a startled gasp, Minami rushed toward the broken door, just as Takato appeared at the entrance.

"Come on!" the goggle-wearing boy called, taking her by the hand, and by surprise as she suddenly realized both he and Kai were there.

"You found me!" she exclaimed as Kai appeared, grinning triumphantly upon seeing her.

"Well, yeah, we rock!"

Not taking a second to celebrate, Takato drew out his digivice and quickly scanned Seasarmon's opponents – and opponents there were as more poured in. He drew in his breath with a hiss as he took in their stats.

"Four Armor digimon… Baromon, Sepikmon, Pepismon and Ponchomon. This is going to be a bit tough…" Looking up, his face tightened and he looked over his shoulder. "Okay, Growlmon! _Now!"_

Just as Seasarmon avoided another attack, a great torrent of fire blew through the wall where he had just leapt from, slamming first into Ponchomon and then careening into Pepismon and Sepikmon, smashing them both into innumerable shards of data. The wall shook as Growlmon slammed his face into the hole he had made, plowing through it. Turning, he spotted Baromon, just in time for the Armor to shout his attack.

_"Storming Knives!"_

Like rockets, seven knives ripped free from beneath his shirt and shot toward Growlmon, slamming hard into him and detonating with ferocious force. Leaping off the wall, Seasarmon howled with rage, claws outstretched to catch their opponent, but Baromon was ready for him. Spinning in midair, he launched another _Storming Knives_ attack, catching Seasarmon in a series of deadly explosions.

Baromon laughed at the seaming ease of his victory. These 'tamed' digimon were _nothing_ against him, just as he suspected.

_To think that we lost the war with these pathetic hu-_

_"Dragon Slash!"_

Turning at the sound of the pronounced attack, Baromon had just enough time to see a glowing blue blade cut through him as Growlmon sliced his arm through the air. Pain erupted throughout his body and the last thing he saw was darkness folding around him as his body evaporated into nothing.

"Nice one!" Kai congratulated as the remains of Baromon's lower torso struck the floor before joining the rest of its owner in digital oblivion. Seasarmon and Growlmon both came in for a landing shortly after, and upon landing, the dog digimon turned toward Minami, and once again their eyes met.

_Seasarmon…_ Minami thought, feeling that fear toward the digimon return. He was so alien and strange… So _savage,_ and yet…

_You came for me,_ she thought, and in spite of her fears, she approached the digimon. Coming to a halt, she held out her hand, waiting to see what he would do.

_He doesn't…seem so scary now…_ she thought, now that she got a good look at him. He reminded her of the Komainu – lion dogs that guarded the inner shrines of temples, warding off evil spirits. She had one once as a very small girl as well, and though it was long lost, she cherished the memory of the item all the same.

At her offered hand, Seasarmon pushed his head against it and then leaned on her, growling happily, eager to give affection back to her so as to let her know that he was for her and that she needn't fear anything, so long as he was by her side.

A small smile drew across Minami's face at this, and she felt herself relax. In spite of not knowing anything about the digimon, she found that she could trust it.

_"Minami!"_

Turning at the sound of her father's voice, Minami's smile bloomed upon seeing him running toward her. "You're okay!" she exclaimed, falling into his arms with relief. She hadn't lost _anyone_ today!

_"Dad!"_ she cried, hugging him close to her as Takeheto pulled her close.

"I'm glad you're safe," he breathed with relief, holding her for a moment until Minami pulled away, gesturing to the two boys with them.

"These guys saved me before. That's Takato and Kai."

"Well thank you," Takehito nodded gratefully to them, causing Takato to blush and become a little flustered while Kai grinned and laughed again.

"Ah, it was nothing," Kai said for the both of them.

The moment was ruined however as the room shook. Turning, Takato's mouth fell open as he saw a surge of water rush toward them from the direction they had come, reminding them of everything that was going on.

"It's flooding! That's right! We've got to get out of here!"

"Let's get out of here!" Takehito said, taking Minami by the shoulder.

Needing little urging, everyone quickly dashed out of the room, Growlmon shoving himself through the hole he made earlier so as to interpose himself between the water and his friends, forming a crude, makeshift dam. Water splashed over him, but for the moment he managed to hold the worst of it at bay, allowing them to hurry off to find safer ground.

**###**

Ryuuji stared at the now empty room, forgotten by Takehito in the mad scramble to rescue his daughter and get her out of harm's way. He sighed in dissatisfaction, disappointed that things didn't go how he hoped it would. Still, a dark smirk drew across his face.

"Well, I guess it's up to _me_ to stop you," he said. "You should have just given up the vaccine!"

**###**

"Seasarmon came from the laptop you gave me!" Minami said to her father as they finally reached the top floor of the island, safe from the flooding below. "Why…Why do you think that happened? You gave it to me…"

"What?" Takehito asked with a surprised gasp. "No, I don't know _how_ that happened! The laptop only contained…"

Lightning cracked and thunder boomed all of a sudden, causing Seasarmon to growl and turn away from the window and press himself against Minami's legs.

"Are you scared of lightning?" she asked the dog digimon softly, patting his head comfortingly.

Takato furrowed his brow thoughtfully at Seasarmon. He too had wondered where the digimon had come from. All the portals to the digital world were closed, preventing computers from being used as a means of entering the real world. The cogs in his mind turned and a thought came to mind.

"He came from the V-Pet…" he said aloud, earning him a surprised look from the others. Feeling anxious at all the attention, he stammered on. "It's the only explanation that makes sense, right? I saw on the news that the V-Pet was made from digimon data, so I thought… What if Seasarmon digivolved from Minami's V-Pet and then bio-emerged into the real world from her computer?"

He glanced at Minami. "He's protecting you just like Mei would have."

"No!" Minami shouted suddenly, shaking her head violently as he said that. "He's not just a replacement for Mei!"

"I'm not saying that, but you have to admit it makes sense, doesn't it?" Takato replied.

Minami's memory flashed back to Mei – her puppy who had loved her so much…who drowned trying to be with her. She looked at Seasarmon, sorrow swimming in her eyes, uncertain as to what to say…or how to feel.

"I based the V-Pet on Mei. I wonder if the program's in his data…" Takehito said, picking up the thread of conversation now.

"What do you mean?" Takato asked the man, ears perking up. "What program?"

"I wrote a program that will destroy all the other V-Pets wherever they are in the world."

_"What?!"_ Takato's eyes widened in horror at that. _"Why?"_

_Destroy all the V-Pets? He's planning to_ kill _them?!_

"I recently discovered that every single V-Pet has a virus hidden deep inside its programming. Once I found that out, I wrote a _vaccine_ program. I uploaded it into Minami's V-Pet because I was starting to think that someone in the company was keeping track of me because of what I discovered. I wanted to make sure that, in case anything happened to me that it would at least get out into the outside world…"

_"Very_ clever!"

Gasping in surprise, Takehito turned to find Ryuuji approaching them, hands in his pockets and looking casual, as if the presence of Growlmon and Seasarmon were of no concern to him.

"Tamashiro," Takehito greeted before taking notice of Growlmon behind him, making a deep, guttural sound in the back of his throat upon seeing the man.

"You hid it inside the very first V-Pet," Ryuuji continued. "Bravo! And who would have guessed it would turn into a digimon?"

"Takato!" Growlmon said in a hushed hiss. _"He's_ a digimon!"

"What?!" Takato gasped, mirroring everyone else's surprise.

"Your digimon is smarter than he looks," Ryuuji laughed, rolling his head on his shoulders as his body began to quiver and shudder. "There's no need for this _costume!"_

"Tamashiro?" Takehito whispered softly, not fully grasping what Growlmon had said. Not wanting to _believe_ it! There was just no way that the man he had worked with for all these months – had worked for over the years – couldn't be…human.

Could he?

_It can't be true… It can't be…_

"Quick joking around!" Kai growled. "This is serious business!"

"Oh, you have _no_ idea!" Ryuuji said, lightning flashing as his body began to swell and expand. Not wasting time, Seasarmon jumped forth, launching himself at Ryuuji, only to be knocked aside as a massive, harry arm slammed into him. Seasarmon howled as data broke away from his body, his body changing and losing its form… _Regressing_ in its evolution. Gone was his horn and lion-like mane. Floppy ears fell over its face as he shrunk and his gold fur became brown.

That, however, was nothing compared to the transformation Ryuuji was going through.

Cloven hooves slammed down on the ground as bat-like wings spread out from his swollen, hunched back. Ryuuji's face stood smack in the center of dark fur, twisted and leering at them, enjoying the shock that painted their faces. Stalking forward, he lifted the devolved Seasarmon in one hand.

Takato's digivice shone as it revealed his new stats. _Labramon._ Takato took no notice however, as in the shock of Ryuuji's transformation, he thought back to that day that was now so long ago, when he, Henry and Rika first encountered…

"Mephistomon…" he breathed, and Ryuuji grinned. His head warped and twisted, his body giving the impression that it was _swallowing_ his face until it reappeared, back in its original form, elongated and goat-shaped.

"And now that I have the vaccine program, no one can stop me!"

Lightning flashed as Mephistomon hoisted Labramon into the air while Minami looked on in growing horror.


	82. Battle of Adventurers: Intervention

Rumiko awoke with a slight groan and lifted her head off Davis' shoulder. Blinking blearily, she looked around, uncertain as to what it was that had brought her out of her sleep, save that she felt some kind of… _alarm_ telling her that something was wrong. Turning her violet eyes up at Davis, she frowned, taking note of the tension in his eyes and the way he drummed his fingers on his arm rest.

"What's wrong?" she asked, her voice slurring slightly. Startled, Davis spun his head around at her.

"N-Nothing!" he replied a little too quickly and loudly, causing Rumiko's frown to only deepen. Something was wrong, but what?

Davis glanced back at her, appearing uncomfortable under her gaze before leaning toward her, speaking again in a quieter voice.

"Well… We hope not anyway."

At this, Rumiko's eyes became alarmed. "Are we…?"

Davis interrupted her with a loud shushing sound, all the while giving her a wide, lopsided smile before looking away. Taking out a pen and a piece of scrap paper, he began to scribble a message on it.

"Sora just got up to use the bathroom," he said, taking. "Something about having an emergency. Girl-stuff I think."

"Like…what?" Rumiko's eyebrows knotted together in confusion, not understanding what was going on at all. It sounded like Davis was lying, but at the same time…

_Hm?_ Rumiko blinked as Davis passed her his message.

_Stay calm. Don't talk. Plane not flying right. Nothing serious. Looking into it._

"I don't ask Sora what goes on with her when it comes to girl stuff," Davis continued, folding his hands together, his smile still plastered on his face, only now Rumiko could see it for what it was. A front for the rest of the passengers, should any happen to be listening.

_He doesn't want to start a panic…_

Tugging at the blanket that a kind stewardess had covered her with, Rumiko felt a nervous twitter to her heart. Reaching out, she clasped her hand around Davis', causing him to regard her with a startled expression.

"I hope she's okay then," Rumiko said, giving his hand a soft squeeze. Davis returned it comfortingly.

"She will," he nodded. "She knows how to take care of herself."

**###**

"All right," Sora nodded to the captain. "So that's the situation."

She was wearing a stewardess uniform now. Having cornered one on her way to the bathroom, she explained who she was and after a quick wardrobe change to keep suspicion down, Sora found herself in the cockpit. It seemed that the V-Pet – recently installed on their systems – had eaten all of their navigation programs, leaving them to eyeball their course path, something that they managed to do well so far, but with so many people to worry about, they were concerned about what _else_ might go wrong.

The V-Pet, it seemed, wasn't content with eating just their navigation systems. It was running through the rest of the flight computers, gobbling down whatever it could get its barking little jaws on. Switching over to manual had isolated it for the most part, but it seemed that it was simply a matter of time before it found a way to another system.

"My partner is a Biyomon," Sora explained. "She can digivolve to stronger flying forms. If we absolutely have to, she can help this plane land."

"She can do that?" asked the copilot, amazed. Sora nodded. "She did it in Odaiba when I was a kid."

"The Ripped Sky incident," the captain nodded, remembering the documentaries…and more. "I was there for that one. I thought you looked like that girl. All right. You have our cooperation."

Sora smiled gratefully. "I'll need to see Biyomon in the digimon section of the plane."

The captain turned to the stewardess. "Take her there. Discretely. Until things go _really_ wrong, I want to make sure that the passengers remain as calm as possible."

**###**

"Reports are continuing to come in from all over the city… No…the _world!"_ Yolei reported from her seat as information was fed to her via her visor. "Entire systems are being overrun by the V-Pet!"

"Currently we're still one of the only ones that haven't been infected," Tally added, her hands moving across her controls. "But it appears that the virus is mutating and are trying to infect more systems on their own."

"What about the ones that have turned into digimon?" Takeru asked, his grip tightening on his lighter. As if in reply, the building shook, but only slightly. "What was that?"

One of the screens winked to life, revealing a flying, pterodactyl like creature, covered in metal and firing missiles, streaking away, only to begin swinging around, firing another salvo of missiles straight at them. Takeru flicked his lighter open so hard that its hinges nearly snapped off.

"Get our copters in the air, _now!"_

**###**

_"Spiking Strike!"_

Stingmon slammed into the Pteramon, his energy blade puncturing its armor with ease, causing it to dissolve into a cloud of red data. Spinning away, the insect-Champion surveyed the damage to the Shinjuku government building. A series of holes had been blown clean in its side, but whether there were any survivors or dead he couldn't tell for certain.

_Too much smoke,_ was all he had time to think before a cry from down below caught his attention. Spotting Kabukimon below, chopping cars up with its petal hands. His shoulder guards expanding again, Stingmon extended his energy blade once more.

_"Spiking Strike!"_ he shouted, flying toward the Armor.

**###**

_"Lightning Paw!"_ Gatomon shouted as she, alongside the two mute PawnChessmon belonging to Miki and Megumi, drove her fist into a Pipismon, shattering it to pieces. The feline dropped down to the ground, her tail-ring glowing and looked around, her cat-like eyes already scanning their surroundings for more attackers.

A boar with orange, burning fur and black tusks rocketed free from a dropped laptop and smashed into a bus with a loud squeal. The bus rocked, its windows shattering from the force of the blow, and then collapsed.

Gatomon scowled, not liking this development. There were an abnormal amount of Armor digimon engaged in attacking the city. True, they weren't the _only_ digimon, but they were, more often than not, the exception and not the rule.

Raising her claws, she cracked her knuckles. "Time to bring home the bacon," she began, only to halt as she caught sight of movement out of the corner of her eye. Throwing herself to the side, snatching hold of the two, silent PawnChessmon, narrowly avoiding a flaming, burning arrow as it streaked through the air.

"Good movements," crowed a laughing voice over the sound of a car being crushed down. Turning, Gatomon rose to her feet and narrowed her eyes. The digimon loading an arrow to a crimson bow was a centaur type, only covered in red armor emblazoned with fire imagery. A black mask covered blue scales, and a lightning-bolt shaped horn erupted from its surface. Gatomon cursed, recognizing the species as a Sagittarimon, an Armor digimon born from the union of a Veemon-type digimon and a digi-egg of Hope.

Gatomon's tail swung in agitation, not enjoying the irony of this meeting in the least.

"There's still time to walk away from this," Gatomon said, lifting her mute companions back to their feet, the two raising their lances toward the centaur Armor without hesitation.

Sagittarimon raised his bow and drew the arrow.

"My apologies," the Nightmare Soldier said almost regretfully. "I was not given the option to walk away."

"This is ridiculous," Gatomon growled, getting into a combat stance, her tail swishing all the more violently. This felt _too_ much as though she were fighting Veemon and Patamon simultaneously. "The war is over!"

There was a spark of light in Saggitarimon's eyes. "I have my orders. I'll try to make this quick for you. _Judgment Arrow!"_

The chrome digizoid arrow flew through the air, straight and true, aiming toward Gatomon, who jumped toward it without hesitation. Whipping herself around in midair, her tail caught the arrow, causing the gold ring on it to gleam with bright light. The arrow, suddenly losing all the force in its flightpath, spun helplessly until Gatomon caught it.

Another leap, and then Gatomon was on the Armor before he had even set his next arrow to string, jamming it through his throat with brutal efficiency. Saggitarimon choked and gargled, staggering backward as Gatomon, spun backward and kicked the butt of the arrow for added punch, causing it to burst out the other end.

Upon landing, Gatomon looked up and her eyes met with the Armor's as he clutched at the end of the arrow, digital blood flowing down his gauntlets.

"Did I not say…" he choked out with a touch of regret intermingled with humor, "…that I'd make it…quick?"

With a resigned laugh, the Armor burst into shards of red data, never to be seen again, leaving only the chrome digizoid arrow to clatter uselessly upon the ground.

Gatomon didn't have time to think further on the matter as she turned to face the boar next.

**###**

Ken peered out of the alleyway as Stingmon skewered Kabukimon with his energy spike, causing his opponent to burst apart. There followed shortly thereafter a loud squeal and a Boarmon came hurtling through the air, data evaporating off its body before vanishing, dying before hitting the ground. He caught sight of Gatomon as she leapt forward and jumped into the air, chasing after the next opponent.

"Gatomon seems to be doing well," Ken said, turning to Kari behind him. Standing abreast to her was also Miki and Megumi, who had terrified looks on their faces. He couldn't blame them. Although they had seen the odd battle against the occasional wild digimon, they had never been in a fight of such magnitude. As a result, their fear and raw inexperience with digivolving was interfering with their ability to help their partners.

"Yeah," Kari nodded. "If we're lucky, we won't have to bring out Angewomon."

"One can only hope," Ken said, raising his D-Terminal and firing off a message to Mimi to see how she was holding up. The D-Terminal was the only thing that they could presently count on for long distance communication, even if the digital technology was obsolete.

_I hope Rika's doing all right,_ he worried as Mimi fired back, reporting that Palmon had taken down a digimon that had attacked her from a computer screen. So far she and her baby were fine, if a bit startled.

_Damn it…_ Ken cursed, grating his teeth. _Where_ is _she? We've got to find her!_

**###**

Takato felt a thousand emotions coursing through him as his crimson eyes looked out at Mephistomon, the demonic digimon clutching Seasarmon-turned-Labramon in his hand like a prize. Shock and horror stood out most prominently, as did terror. Mephistomon… The last time he saw this digimon had been at a construction site when Rika had still been his enemy rather than his teacher. The three of them nearly died in the ensuing battle, requiring the aid of the Digidestined in order to fight him off. Although he was stronger than last time – being able to digivolve to the Champion form – he was alone now.

No one would be coming to save them.

_All the more reason that I have to fight,_ Takato thought, gripping his digivice all the more tightly. _We have to! Otherwise the whole world will be destroyed!_

As if sensing his determination, Growlmon charged forth, a glowing blade snapping free from his forearm. Rearing back, he slashed at Mephistomon, only for the Ultimate to easily dodge. Raising a furry arm, the dark digimon blasted the Champion-level dragon with a gust of black wind, sending him careening into a wall.

_"Growlmon!"_ Takato shouted, fumbling for his cards. His nerves were starting to become erratic. In spite of his determination, Mephistomon's arrival had rattled him, throwing off his concentration. _If I can just…_ he began, only for Mephistomon's dark laughter to cut across his thoughts as lightning flashed across his visage.

"Right now, V-Pets and digimon are causing chaos all over the world," Mephistomon laughed contemptuously as he hefted Labramon's unconscious body in his hand. "Soon they'll destroy the entire planet, and there's not a thing you can do to stop them!"

_No…_ Takato thought in despair, drawing a card from his pocket. "No!" he shouted. "I won't let you!"

_But how? He's so much stronger than Growlmon! No! Don't think about that! Just find a way! Find a way!_

The color of the card began to flicker, taking on an orange sheen, and a sun-shaped symbol appeared upon its surface, only to return back to its original appearance.

Lightning crashed again, and just then a thunderous voice boomed from the sky, shattering the windows above. Takato gasped, startled as broken glass rained down on them and he covered himself reflexively, hissing as some shards found purchase, cutting along his skin.

_"Guess again, Mephistomon!"_

"Wha…?" Takato began, lowering his hands as Mephistomon's eyes widened in horror.

_"Omnimon!"_ he exclaimed as the air began to warp above them. The air twisted, and at once two glowing forms were dropped from it, a lithe young girl with fire-red hair and a nine-tailed, golden-furred kitsune.

_"Rika!"_ Takato exclaimed in surprise and happiness upon seeing the girl. Turning toward him, she regarded him with a nod.

"Heard you could use some help," she said, pausing for a moment to frown upon seeing the crimson stain drying on his face. Had he been injured?

She tightened her fist angrily, remembering his voicemail from earlier. Turning away furiously, she set her sights on Mephistomon.

If he was at all responsible, he was going to pay.

A second later, two more figures shimmered into reality; Henry and Gargomon. The half-Chinese Tamer turned and smiled at Takato.

"Well, I told you we'd come visit," he greeted. "So here we are."

"Wha…?" Takato blinked, baffled. "How…?"

"It's a long story. Three of the Digidestined brought us here – Matt, Tai and Izzy…"

_"Tai?!"_ Takato exploded in utter bewilderment. There was so much information coming in so quickly. He was barely keeping up.

_"Henry speaks the truth,"_ Omnimon's voice boomed, this time as WarGreymon. _"But Tai and I cannot leave this dimension, so I'm relying on you Tamers to take him down!"_

At that, Mephistomon broke into laughter, relief flooding him now that he knew he wasn't about to face the Mega.

"Mere children cannot stop me!"

At that, anger sparked inside Takato and he pumped a fist into the air.

"Children?! We're _Tamers!"_

With an answering roar, Growlmon charged over the boy, just as Rika and Henry sent their partners forth to attack. Mephistomon snorted and thrust his hands skyward, sending a powerful gust of black wind blasting at the three digimon, launching them into the air with a surprised cry. The black wind grew, and suddenly a bright light erupted across the entire island.

The last thing the Tamers heard before their view of the world warped into something else was Mephistomon's laughter echoing in their ears.

**###**

"What happened?!" Matt shouted, rounding on Tai angrily. "You said that all they had to do was fight Mephistomon!"

"I did!" Tai exclaimed, flummoxed. "I didn't hear anything about this! Izzy! What did he do?"

"My equipment's limited," Izzy began, his fingers furiously typing away on his keyboard. "But… No."

Izzy's face snapped up in alarm. "A digital world. He's created his own digital world! This is impossible unless…"

"Unless?" Matt asked.

"Unless he somehow took control of the entire network. If that's the case… There's no telling _what_ he'll be able to do!"

Matt spun around on Tai and grabbed hold of him by his shirt.

"We're separating!" he declared before looking up at Omnimon. "Gabumon! Separate from Agumon! We've got to go after them!"

"No!" Tai exclaimed. "They have to do this on their own! If they don't…"

"I _know_ what you said! But we don't have time for this! If you can't…if you _won't_ come along…"

"You wouldn't be able to follow them if you wanted to," Izzy quickly pointed out. "They're in a different dimension now, and we don't have a way in. Not yet. Tentomon…"

_"Already scanning Izzy,"_ the insect digimon announced, saluting his partner with his claw.

"This is nuts…" Matt breathed, releasing Tai and turning away from him. "If those kids are hurt…"

"Matt," began the Digidestined of Courage as he clasped a hand on the man's shoulder. "Have hope. They'll…"

At that, Matt spun around and slammed his fist into Tai's face, causing Izzy to wince.

_Saw that coming,_ he thought as Tentomon's scans began to bring in some information from the other side.


	83. The Universe of Battle

Only a handful of screens illuminated Hypnos' primary control room now, many having gone dark as a massive influx of information suddenly slammed into their equipment, far beyond their system's capacity to handle. Already overtaxed trying to keep out the V-Pet virus, Hypnos shut down.

Yolei's fingers flew over her control panel as she sought to reboot their systems. Here and there, she coaxed them back to life, but it was plainly obvious that whatever happened, Hypnos took some serious damage along the way.

"Report!" came the voice of Takeru from down below as he finally managed to get a computer back online. Yolei glanced down, seeing that it was running a diagnostic, which, to her estimate, was a good sign.

"I've managed to salvage some of the data before we shut down," Yolei reported. "By the looks of things there was a _massive_ distortion in the network and it centered around an area in the Pacific. We're still waiting on satellite confirmation, but we may be looking at a miniature big bang that caused an outpouring of the quantum ocean into the real world!"

 _"What?!"_ Takeru felt himself grow rigid at that. The quantum ocean had nearly drowned the digital world when Meicoomon's virus threatened to overwhelm it. If such a thing actually _occurred…_

 _It's too soon,_ he thought, flicking his lighter closed with a loud _click._ _Much too soon! If the Dreamer were to influence it_ now…!

Takeru flicked his lighter open and gathered himself. Taking a shuddering breath, he shook himself mentally.

"It's impossible to say at this point however," Tally said from behind Yolei. "With seventy-five percent of our systems inoperative, we're shooting in the dark on this. However…" She tapped another command and a screen winked to life above Takeru. He turned toward it, frowning.

"Is that…?"

"Yes sir," Tally nodded. "The V-Pet has taken over nearly every computer on the planet. The world's entire processing power was centered around that distortion. A new digital world has been created."

**###**

Takato found himself screaming as he and the others suddenly found themselves falling from a blood-red sky before crashing into a giant ocean. Takato gasped in surprise, only to curse at himself for doing so as his lungs drew in…oxygen?

"Huh? What is…? Hey! I can breathe!"

The boy blinked in surprise at this as he found his descent greatly slowed. Looking down, he found a city eerily similar to that of Shinjuku, only it appeared eerily empty, save for the schools of fish and lines of digi-code floating throughout it. Floating the rest of the way down, he and Growlmon came to a halt, just barely above the streets. In spite of the water he felt flowing around him, he found there was zero water pressure. He looked around nervously, finding that he couldn't see where the others were at the moment.

 _Were we the only ones who made it?_ he wondered before fighting down his panic. _No! I won't accept that! I'm sure they're out there and we just got separated, that's all. I just have to find them!_

"Where are we?" he asked Growlmon behind him, but before the dinosaur could answer, there came a loud laugh from the surface of the water above them.

"It's a digital world I've created, to _destroy you!"_

At that, a gust of black wind shot out violently, annihilating a school of fish and rocketing toward Takato and Growlmon. The two quickly swam out of the way, and the attack hit the streets below them, causing it to detonate with explosive force. Takato bit back a curse as a chunk of pavement grazed his elbow, drawing blood.

"Hello boys," Mephistomon gloated as he materialized above them. "I do hope that you're enjoying yourself. Especially _you,_ Hazard Tamer. I'm afraid that you won't be able to use this environment to your advantage today."

"Uh… What are you talking about?" Takato asked, only to shake his head. "You know what? Never mind. We're going to take you down! Growlmon!"

 _"Pyro Blaster!"_ the crimson dinosaur yelled as he reared his head back. A burning light glowed in the back of his throat before he shot out a torrential blast of fire at Mephistomon, who simply floated to the side where the fireball flew harmlessly.

"Fool! You could never defeat me with a pathetic attack like that!"

"And _you'll_ never get us to stop battling you with pathetic speeches like that! We _will_ take you down!"

Rising up into the ocean current so as to face Mephistomon more fully, Takato drew out his digivice and his cards. He felt a gust of cool water behind him, and turning, he saw Rika and Henry, flanked by their partners, arriving to join him.

"Very well," Mephistomon declared, swimming between floating naval vessels. "If you're so eager to be destroyed, then I'm more than happy to completely crush all six of you."

"Guess again," Rika said, readying her own digivice. "Kyubimon! Take care of this chump!"

At the girl's order, Kyubimon dashed forward, fire blooming to life on the tips of her nine tails. Spreading them out, she fired all nine fireballs at Mephistomon, and they surrounded the Ultimate before igniting his body aflame. This was quickly followed up by Gargomon as he took aim with his Vulcan cannons, firing emerald lasers that detonated on his chest. With a contemptuous laugh, Mephistomon blew away the attacks with a sweep of his arm, unharmed. Raising his hand next, he took aim and a gust of black wind struck the two Champions, sending them crashing into Growlmon.

"None of our attacks are working," breathed Henry in awe before looking at his digivice. "And neither are our cards!"

"This is just terrific," Rika growled, swiping a card, only for it to do nothing. No spark came from the slot or even a glow of light emerged from its screen.

"He said something about how he created this world to destroy us," Takato said. "Something about how we couldn't use it to our advantage."

"That…explains nothing," Rika frowned while Henry scowled in thought.

"If he created this world…then we really _are_ in trouble! He can write all the rules he wants to keep us from winning!"

"He's just so powerful," whined Gargomon as he floated by. Hearing this, Mephistomon broke into loud laughter.

"You see? You don't stand a chance! You may have grown in strength and power since our last encounter, but I am _leagues_ above you! In this world, _I_ am power! _You_ are _nothing!"_

"We're _never_ going to give up!" Takato shouted, rage fueling him now. Rika looked at him, startled at how he could continue to stand up and fight despite the odds. She hadn't expected that of him.

A small grin graced her features and she set her shining violet eyes on Mephistomon, and along with Henry, who gripped his digivice tightly in determination.

 _"Get him!"_ they shouted as one.

A soft glow of light surrounded the three digimon as they charged Mephistomon.

"Labramon, get out of there now!" Growlmon shouted, burning red light emerging in the back of his throat. _"Pyro Blaster!"_

In Mephistomon's grasp, the dog-digimon woke up to the sound of his name, and seeing the three Champions rushing his captor, he immediately began squirming, managing to slip free and dodge the Ultimate as he attempted to snatch hold of him once more. The fireball surged toward Mephistomon and he ducked back, suddenly alarmed by the red light that surrounded it, recognizing it for what it was.

 _The Trinity Effect…_ he thought as the fireball shot above him. He snorted. He had nothing to be concerned about. As long as he was in this world, he could not be defeated.

"You missed," he mocked the Champion, only for an explosion to rock one of the floating ships above him. Looking up, he saw the vessel plummeting toward him at breakneck speed.

"Really?" Growlmon laughed as the ship plowed into the demonic digimon, grinding him into the streets of his newly created city before detonating with a tremendous explosion. Buildings shattered and crumbled from the force of the blast, and everywhere digimon and Tamers scattered. Labramon ran through the water to outrace it. As he did so, his ears pricked up at the sound of a familiar voice screaming in fear, and he turned to find Minami doing as he.

With renewed effort, he rushed over to her just as the streets began to shatter beneath her, and threw himself over her protectively, taking the brunt of the blast before they both collapsed.

Silence reigned, broken only by the sound of shifting rubble. Minami cracked her eyes open to find the Labramon atop her, eyes closed and groaning softly. His fur was shaggy, torn and beat up from the explosion.

"Labramon…" she whispered. "You saved me…"

Seeing his prone, prostrate form, tears began to well up in her eyes, and she clenched them shut, only for the tears to spill out and run down her cheeks, hot and wet.

"I'm sorry I wasn't nicer to you when you were the V-Pet!" she cried, pulling him tightly to her all of a sudden.

"It's okay, Minami," Labramon moaned, cracking his eyes open. "Don't cry. I understand."

"No… You don't," she sobbed, pulling herself out from under him and sitting up, hoisting the dog digimon into her arms. "I was actually glad when Dad made you. But I had my feelings…"

I know, Minami," Labramon replied, a soft smile on his face before he shuddered, clenched his fangs together tightly and suddenly slumped in her arms with a heavy sigh. Minami's eyes widened with horror as she saw small bits of glowing data start to break away from his body, realizing what was going on.

Labramon was dying.

With a choked sob, all the pain that she had pushed down deep inside her welled up and she cried it out with a single word…a name.

_"Meiii…!"_

The name of her lost puppy encapsulated everything for her. The loss, so senseless and brutal, and Mei had been helpless against the merciless ocean currents. It didn't care that she wanted to be with Minami. It didn't care that she didn't have the strength to survive on her own. The ocean simply…didn't care. An empty, mindless world that knew nothing nor cared to know anything and Mei… Poor, small Mei… She was nothing to the world.

As she cried into Labramon's vanishing fur, a rainbow aura surrounded the digimon, and he opened his eyes once more, smiling.

"I'm so glad…you called me by that name," he whispered as the girl sobbed uncontrollably. "That was the key to releasing the vaccine program, so now we can stop Mephistomon…"

The dog digimon glanced skyward at the shell of water that surrounded this digital world, his expression softening. He found that, in spite of his short life, he had no regrets. Had he the choice, he would gladly have done this all over again, if it meant saving this girl and the world she lived in.

"Bye Minami…" were his last words as his body finished breaking apart, the data floating away, leaving the green-eyed girl to stare after his departure, tears clouding her eyes.

**###**

"Whoa," breathed Kai as he spotted the glow of the rainbow aura floating skyward. "What's that?"

"The vaccine program has been released," replied Takehito as light continued to spread outward. Wherever it touched, Mephistomon's digital world began to break down and shatter.

**###**

"What's…going on?" Takato asked as the crimson sky began to crack at the touch of the sparkling light emanating from the city. He didn't understand what was happening, but if this world was shattering, sure that meant…

"Did we do it? Did we defeat Mephistomon?"

"I think so," Henry replied, a smile spreading across his face. "I think it's over!"

With a whoop and a holler, the two boys exchanged a high five, and Takato quickly turned to Rika, who regarded them passively, arms folded across her chest.

"Hey, come on," he said. "Don't you feel happy? We took out Mephistomon!"

Rika frowned slightly, her eyes flicking over to the wound on Takato's head.

"Don't count it as a win yet," Rika said, forcing her gaze away and indicating the city below. _"That_ is still here."

"Well… Okay, yeah," Takato admitted, "but that could just mean that it's going to be a while before it breaks apart. I mean, that Vaccine program isn't going to end things instantly, right?"

Henry angled his gaze toward the digital city, frowning. Now that he thought about it, it _did_ seem a bit odd that it hadn't disappeared yet, nor did it show any signs of disappearing. True, there were cracks in the sky now, holes for which the vaccine program could escape through, but perhaps that was all it had to do? He doubted that it had been built with destroying a digital world in mind.

"Let's head on down there," Henry said, swimming toward the streets. "Rika has a good point there, and if there's something still going on, we've got to make sure that we take care of it."

"Ah… Okay," Takato nodded uncertainly before swimming after the other boy. Unfolding her arms, Rika did likewise, her eyes glancing back at Takato's wound again before making a grumbling noise about how he couldn't take care of himself under her breath. Spotting Minami just as her father, with Kai lagging behind, was running up to her, they angled themselves toward them and touched down. Calumon floated between them, eyes full of concern.  
"Minami, are you okay?" Takehito asked, collecting the girl into his arms and hugging her closely.

"I'm fine…" the girl choked out, clutching at her father's shirt tightly. "But Mei…"

"Poor thing," Kai said softly under his breath as Takato came up behind him. Seeing him out of the corner of his eye, he turned toward his cousin, taking note of the odd, troubled look in his eyes. "You okay?"

"I guess…not," Takato reluctantly admitted. "My friends Rika and Henry… They said something's not right here. I'm starting to think that they have a point. If Mephistomon's gone, then why hasn't this world he created disappeared?"

As if on cue, Growlmon sniffed the air and snarled. Curious, Calumon floated up and landed atop the Champion's nose, looking around curiously.

"What's up?" he asked, and below, Takato shuddered. Whenever Growlmon smelled trouble, he was never wrong.

"I don't like this…"

**###**

Darkness swirled within Mephistomon's thoughts. These three… _children_ …had done him harm! They had unleashed the vaccine program and were undoing all of his work! He could sense it in the real world. His army of Nightmare Soldiers and V-Pets were being destroyed one by one, and soon…so _very_ soon…his digital world would go along with it.

Fury swelled within his black heart. He _refused_ to let it end like this! Not when he had been so close! The end of the human world and the beginning of his realm of nightmares.

_It's all crashing inward… If this is how it's going to end, I'll destroy them along with it._

His howl split across the air and shattered the foundations of his city, causing buildings to topple and shatter into shards of data. They fell into his body and he burst forth from the rubble, his body growing. The data of his digital world fed him well, and as he grew to gargantuan proportions, his body changed, becoming more centaur-like. His lips moved, pronouncing his evolution.

 _"Mephistomon… Digivolve tooo…_ _Gulfmon!"_

**###**

"Gulfmon," Takato reported, his digivice's holographic circle reporting Mephistomon's new stats to him. "This isn't good. _Not_ good at all!"

"We can still take him!" Rika declared. "Kyubimon!"

The three Champions rose into the air and hurled themselves at Gulfmon. They hurled attack after attack on the Mega, but Gulfmon deftly threw them off with no appreciable effect on him. Rising into the air, he slammed into the cracked streets, and roared powerfully. The three rose into the air once more, surveying the situation. Gulfmon stood amidst a crater, his head snaking about until it locked on them. His smile was wide and full of fangs, showing no fear, but delight at their helplessness.

"He's just sitting there!" crowed Gargomon. "Get him!"

_"Fox Tail Inferno!"_

_"Pyro Blaster!"_

_"Gargo Lasers!"_

Once more the attacks exploded harmlessly upon Gulfmon.

"There's got to be a way to take this guy down!" Gargomon cursed. "Man, this blows! Omnimon _seriously_ thought that we could take him just as we are? What were they thinking?"

"We'll find a way," Growlmon snarled, his arm blades snapping out. "We just have to keep fighting!"

"Don't look now, but that's about to get _really_ hard!"

As they watched, a wide gap appeared in the center of Gulfmon's stomach, and a row of fangs revealed themselves, a burning light forming in the gaping maw. A single mighty blast erupted out and slammed into them, causing the ground to shatter and send a tremendous shockwave outward. The Tamers cried out as they were blasted into the air. Reflexively, Rika's hands lashed out, grabbing hold of Takato and then Henry before they hit the ground, rolling along it for a moment before coming to a halt.

"Owww…" Takato moaned, sitting up. "Everyone… Everyone all right?"

Rika tightened her grip around Takato's wrist and she pulled herself up. "I'm _fine,"_ she grunted before releasing him. With a groan, she staggered to her feet.

"What're we going to do?" grunted Henry as he and Takato climbed back to their feet as well. "We can only digivolve to Champion but we can't use our cards. This guy took all of our best attacks too!

Takato wiped at his face, his head wound having broken open once more. "It's not over," he declared. "We're going to find a way!"

"That's great, but how?" Rika _harrumphed,_ wiping at her cheek and finding that she too had scraped herself up a bit from the fall. This kid… Just _where_ did he get this bottomless reservoir of optimism. They were _badly_ outmatched now. No matter how hard they tried, three Champions couldn't take on a single Mega and expect to win.

_If he stuck it out as an Ultimate, we'd stand a chance…_

"I don't _know!"_ Takato exclaimed suddenly. "But we'll just find one!" Raising his digivice, he stared down at it, willing it to do _something!_ Anything! "There's _got_ to be a way!"

He looked up at the digimon, lying helplessly amidst the rubble. They were still struggling to get up. He thought of the bond they shared with their digimon… The bond he shared with Growlmon, who was every bit a part of him as anything could possibly be.

 _He's still willing to fight…_ he thought before nodding. _If he can, then I'll keep going! I'll always stand by him, no matter what!_

A red light began to glow on his chest just then… A heart shaped symbol, and it was a light reflected in Growlmon's body. Rika blinked upon seeing it and Henry's mouth fell open.

"Is that…?" Henry began as Takato gaped down in surprise.

"A…A crest?!" the goggle-wearing boy stammered out. "I've got a crest glowing on me!"

"The Crest of Love too," Rika said in surprise. Of all things, she certainly wasn't expecting that. She glanced up at the boy, expecting him to say something derisive about it…about how it was a _girl's_ crest, but much to her surprise, she found a smile drawing itself upon his face and he nodded, his expression tinged with growing confidence now.

"Then…we have a chance," he said. "We can do this."

Gulfmon stomped toward the digimon, and Rika's head snapped up toward him. Her eye was drawn to Kyubimon. She was battered, but like Growlmon, she refused to back down.

She tightened her grip on her digivice as a thought occurred to her.

_If we beat this guy… Then Renamon will be free from him for good. I can save her…_

Another crest began to shine just then, this time on her chest, blue and with twin, curves to it that made her think of two teardrops joined together.

"The Crest of Friendship," Henry breathed and a light kindled in his grey eyes at the sight of two crests beating as one. Almost as if on a signal, his light joined them; a glowing gold tower with a sun at its top.

_Hope._

Turning, they faced Gulfmon, as he towered over the them, his shadow seeping out across the ruins of the city, threatening to devour them. Only their combined light, human and digimon, kept him from swallowing them whole.

"Fools," he chortled. "Your lights will not save you here… I told you. This is _my_ world."

 _"No… It is not,"_ came a voice in front of Gulfmon, barely above a whisper.

Calumon was suddenly there, his eyes glowing brightly with white light while the red triangle atop blazed brightly. The demonic digimon stood there, transfixed by the unexpected sight. There was something about this In-Training digimon… About the light cascading off him that felt…familiar…

 _No… It can't be! This light was extinguished! Sent into_ hiding!

Calumon's mouth opened just then and he spoke his next words.

_"Overwrite commenced. Matrix Digivolution."_

And the light exploded outward from the three Tamers and one tiny digimon.

_"Growlmon…"_

_"Kyubimon…"_

_"Gargomon…"_

_"Matrix Digivolve tooo…"_

Growlmon's body _grew_ suddenly as metal armor formed along his body, covering first his lower jaw and then his chest, coming to an end at a pair of tiny rocket thrusters. A hazard sign appeared on the snout of his body armor and his arms became fully metallic, with great, axe-like blades protruding from them. Kyubimon's nine tails vanished as she stood upright, becoming more humanoid in appearance. A priestly robe formed over her body and her face took on a hard, stern look about her, giving the impression of an expressionless mask. Of all of them, Gargomon's transformation was the most extreme, becoming fully robotic; his ears taking on a wing-like appearance while his legs and upper body protruded from a spherical abdomen. Gone were the gatling guns that made up his hands, and in their place were small missile launchers. As one, they completed their transformation by shouting their new names.

_"WarGrowlmon!"_

_"Taomon!"_

_"Rapidmon!"_

"They did it!" Takato said, his mouth growing wide with a smile. "They digivolved to _Ultimate!"_

"This… This is incredible!" Henry said, his voice in awe. The crests on their chests glowed even brighter now. Rika, however, took notice of Calumon's limp form as he fell from the sky, seemingly exhausted.

"You guys ready to take him down?" WarGrowlmon asked his fellow digimon.

"The bigger they are the _harder_ they fall!" Rapidmon nodded, looking at the others. "Shall we?"

The glow from the three Tamers intensified and surged out, enveloping their partners, causing their light to burn with all the intensity of the sun. With a tremendous shout, the three Ultimate level digimon changed, taking on an almost liquid metal sheen to them before rocketing toward Gulfmon. The three of them, now streams of fire, twisted around each other before merging, becoming like a blazing phoenix.

 _"Trinity Burst!"_ they shouted as one, and like lightning they struck Gulfmon's stomach, puncturing it and burning their way out to the other end. Gulfmon screamed as his body burst aflame and cracks splintered along his body. Shock and horror ripped through the very core of his being to such intensity that he barely felt the pain. The three… They did it! They created a Trinity Burst! It was impossible! In this world, he should have been invincible! He…

He cast his gaze downward where Rika, the Digimon Queen that he and Apocalymon had sought to nurture into their warrior, stood, lifting Calumon into her arms.

Their eyes locked for the briefest of moments before darkness swallowed him whole once more, and this time there would be no escape.

The digital world he created… _shattered¸_ and the floodgates opened.


	84. Battle of Adventurers: Adventure's End

"…all systems returning to normal," said the copilot as he checked the plane's systems. "I don't know what happened, but it looks like the virus got cleaned out."

Sora breathed a sigh of relief and looked at the ship's captain.

"Looks like we're having another routine flight," she laughed lightly, relaxing a little as she smoothed a hand through Biyomon's pink feathers.

"I'm sorry to say that your services won't be needed," the captain said, breathing a sigh of relief. Biyomon shook her head.

"I'd rather not be needed if it means everyone here is safe and sound." Taking a step back into the box Sora and the stewardess had used to transport her here discretely, the bird digimon nestled down inside. "If I'm not needed, I'd like to go back to my seat. I'm sure DemiVeemon is getting frantic wondering what's going on."

"If it's not too much trouble…?" Sora asked the captain, who nodded.

"We'll have your regular clothes ready for you to change into. We'll make an announcement to the rest of the passengers now that the situation is over and we're safe."

Sora nodded, draping a blanket over Biyomon to hide her, and with the stewardess' help, she lifted her partner up into the air and exited the cabin. She smiled, seeing everyone remained calm and unworried, helped no doubt that many had dropped off to sleep.

"I feel like I'm going to need a nap now," Sora said under her breath as the audio crackled, catching everyone's attention.

_"This is your captain, speaking…"_ he began as Sora caught the eye of Rumiko and Davis. Adjusting her grip on Biyomon's box and winked at them, signaling that all was over and well. She saw Rumiko's hand tighten around Davis', but neither of them said a word as she and the stewardess passed by.

_Imagine that,_ Sora chuckled mentally. _Where will you two go after this?_

**###**

"Looks like we have an all-clear," Davis said, letting out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. Rumiko looked at him in relief.

"I'm glad to hear that. Although…it was kind of a bit exciting. These long flights sure are boring normally."

Davis made a face at her that indicated disbelief. As much as he enjoyed action, he had lost much of his taste for it as a child, and the war only made it more so. Seeing this, Rumiko gave his hand a soft squeeze.

"I don't mean that I wanted anything to happen," she clarified. "It's just… It was different. You didn't look all that worried about it."

Davis shook his head. "I was," he admitted. "I…"

He grimaced, suddenly becoming aware of the tension in his body. Although he hadn't been in battle, he felt as though he had been in one after a fashion. The urge to act in a situation where he couldn't afford to was…stressful to say the least. If there was one thing Davis didn't like, it was not being able to act in a situation that practically _demanded_ action.

Seeing his silence and the expression on his face, Rumiko tenderly stroked his hand.

"Well… It's over now," she said, smiling softly at him. "Davis, when we land, would you like to go somewhere to relax? I know a good karaoke bar."

Davis looked at her, bewildered. "I thought you hated karaoke," he said, remembering the one time he saw her do it, reluctantly, at the urging of her friends. She had been fairly bad at the time.

_Maybe she got better?_ he wondered, gazing into the woman's kind, violet eyes.

"I can change my mind," she said with a wink, eliciting a blush from the bearer of Miracles.

**###**

They swam through the darkness of the ocean and toward the light of day that called to them from beyond the water's edge. Takato clamped a hand around his mouth, desperately trying to keep himself from breathing as there was no air to be had for his screaming lungs. He swam harder until, finally, his head broke the surface and he drew in a loud gasp, joined quickly by the others as they drank in the sweet, fresh air.

Turning around, he looked at the others, his face breaking into a wide smile as excitement bubbled up inside him. Finally, with a loud yell that startled Rika, he threw his arms up and slapped them down on the water.

"We really did it!" he exclaimed loudly, breaking into a fit of laughter

"That's 'cause we rock!" Kai grinned back at him.

"We saved the world!" Henry grinned, to which Rika rolled her eyes.

"Again."

"But now I need a vacation from my vacation," Takato continued, before sighing. "But…" He glanced around, his humor evaporating. "Where…are we? The island we were on? The boat… It's all gone."

He looked skyward thoughtfully. "Did they go to the digital world?"

"Who cares?" Rika _harrumphed._ "Right now we have to figure out a way to get to shore. Where are we?"

"Uh…in the ocean?" Takato asked dumbly while Guilmon sniffed the air.

"Land is that way," the crimson dinosaur said after a moment, pointing his claw toward the horizon. Rika narrowed her eyes at him.

"And you're _sure_ about that," she said flatly. Guilmon nodded.

"His nose has never been wrong before," Takato said.

"To bad your head is," Rika grumbled, glancing at his injury. "You keep getting hit there. What is it with you and that?"

"This really isn't the best time," Henry sighed, beginning to swim. "Save your strength for the trip."

_"There is no need to make such a trip,"_ thundered the voice of Omnimon from above them. Lightning crackled in the sky once more and a column of light fell down upon them. One by one, the humans and digimon rose into the air, Minami clinging tightly to her father.

"What… What's happening?" the man cried, holding his daughter closely to her protectively.

"It's how we got here," Henry said as Rika nodded.

"Our ride. Omnimon, remember? He said he brought us to fight Mephistomon."

As they rose into the air, a tear in the sky ripped open and pulled them inside, revealing Tai, Matt, Izzy and Omnimon waiting for them, Tai sporting a dark bruise along his cheekbone.

"Prodigious!" Izzy exclaimed as the beam of light dispersed, depositing the group in the digital space. "Tai was right that the three of you were what was needed to defeat Mephistomon."

"Uh… Us three?" Rika asked as Takato gazed in utter awe at being in the presence of not just _three_ Digidestined, but also _Omnimon!_ The union born of Friendship and Courage!

"Yes," Izzy replied. "There's a prophecy and…"

"Izzy!" Tai interrupted sternly, causing the Digdestined of Knowledge to jump in surprise at the force of his words. The Digidestined of Courage was glaring at him harshly.

"Ah… Right," he said after a moment, remembering that Tai had wanted him to stay silent on the prophecy. However, this caused Rika to narrow her eyes dangerously.

"What? What's this about a prophecy?"

"Forget it for now," Matt said, brushing the girl's question off roughly. "Right now, we just need to go back to the real world. Where…?"

"I have just enough power left to send you all back to Okinawa," Omnimon said, tracing his sword along the digital space and opening a new tear, this one displaying the island. "This is all I can do for you."

"Then let's go," Matt said before turning to Tai. "I don't suppose that you're coming…are you?"

Tai shook his head at the man. "Sorry. I've got to stick it out here. Gennai's orders."

"I'm curious to know why it is Gennai is willing to tell you but no one else," Izzy said, closing up his laptop.

"There's a lot of things Gennai never told us even when he talked to all of us," Tai pointed out. "He likes to run a tight ship."

He glanced at the others. "It's time to get going. These portals aren't going to last long with Hypnos on the job."

Minami looked at the Digidestined and the Tamers, her hand tightening around her fathers before she bowed politely.

"Thank you," she said in a quiet voice. "I…I don't understand everything that happened today, but…thank you all for being there. For saving me. I just wish…Seasarmon were here."

Tai turned toward the young girl. He had seen enough of what happened through the portal, and Gennai had told him a few things… Things that he might expect. People who might be targeted… Gennai's dossier on Minami as well as the Tamers was quite thorough, suspecting that she would likely be a priority target by the Nightmare Soldiers should her father catch on to what Mephistomon was up to.

Approaching her, Tai knelt down and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"When I was a teenager, I was attacked in the real world by a Kuwagamon. He caused some damage that day, and during it I saw a cell phone… Some kid's phone, just lying on the ground…dropped in a hurry. There were no deaths that day, but there were in later years. People I knew and was friends with.

"I know this is hard for you," he continued. "I know that look in your eyes. I've seen it often enough. That feeling of loss you have. It's never easy burying your friends or watching them float away like that. It might not be much comfort knowing that he helped save the world because he died, but he died because he wanted to protect you. Wanted to protect your smile." He offered her a small, sympathetic one and looked around at the others briefly before settling his gaze back on Minami. "Remember him. That is the best thing you can do for him. It'll hurt, and it'll take time to heal. It might not be today, and it doesn't have to be tomorrow. Don't rush it. Have a good cry or whatever you think you need to do. But when all is said and done…remember him. Remember and live. Remember Seasarmon."

With that, he withdrew his hand and stood back up.

"It's time to leave this behind and go home. All of you. That portal back to your lives won't stay open forever.

"Thank you," Takehito bowed politely. Taking his daughter by the arm, he led her through the portal and stepped back out into the real world, an act that was swiftly followed by Henry and Terriermon with Rika and Renamon joining them. Rika, however, paused at the edge of the portal and turned around, finding that Takato and Guilmon hadn't yet followed. The boy was standing in front of Tai, looking a bit star struck while Guilmon looked at him questioningly.

_Typical,_ she thought, slightly annoyed.

"Mr…Kamiya?" Takato asked, looking a bit flustered. Matt resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He knew that look all too well from his rock concert days.

"What's up?" Tai grinned and the boy shifted anxiously.

"This might sound weird but…can I…shake your hand?"

Reaching out, he held his hand in the air, his face blushing brightly in embarrassment. Rika narrowed her eyes at him, resisting the urge to tell him to hurry up and get out of the digital world or else he was going to end up stuck there.

_He'd probably be okay with it,_ she thought as Omnimon's body took on a bright glow and separated into the forms of Gabumon and Agumon.

"Sure," Tai nodded, clasping Takato's hand and patting his shoulder. "How's my little sister doing? I hear she teaches you."

"You know about that?" Takato blinked in surprise. Muttering a soft 'whoops', Tai took hold of him and pushed him in Rika's direction.

"Aaand that's your cue. Better keep an eye on him." He winked at her. "He can get lost pretty easily."

"Ah!" Takato gasped as stumbled out of the portal, Rika finding herself raising her hands to catch him. The two stared at each other, a blush rising onto their cheeks before they quickly disentangled themselves, Rika turning away and folding her arms across her chest. Memories from her encounter with his parents suddenly came to mind and she bit back a series of curses.

_Why… Just_ what _is going on here?!_ she thought, berating the heavens. _Stupid…_

The sound of Terriermon giggling caused her to glare at the rabbit-dog digimon.

"Not…one…word," she warned, but this only served to increase his amusement.

"That sounds like a challenge," he grinned, leaning forward on Henry's shoulder. Reaching up, Henry gave a slight tap on his partner's head.

"Terriermon…" he warned.

"What?! That was five words, not one!"

"Ahhh… Are you two going out now?" Guilmon asked, exiting the portal alongside Calumon.

_"No!"_ Takato exclaimed loudly, blushing harder than ever now. "W-Whatever gave you that idea? Come on! Rika wouldn't _ever_ think of me like that in a million years! I'm too weird!"

Sensing Rika's sharp glare, he risked a look and swallowed, finding her violet gaze leveled dangerously on him.

"Um…two million years?" he offered. "End of the universe?"

"Those two are really silly," Calumon laughed, coming to a rest atop Guilmon's head. The dinosaur looked up at him curiously.

"Calumon. Hey, what were you doing in front of Gulfmon right before we digivolved? I saw you there, and it looked like you took him by surprise about something."

Calumon tapped his chin with one tiny paw. "I did. That's weird. I don't remember doing that."

Guilmon shrugged before laughing. "Oh well. We won and that's all that matters."

Calumon beamed and nodded. "Yeah!"

**###**

"You're really going to stay behind," Matt said to Tai as Izzy started toward the portal.

Tai nodded. "I have to. For a little bit longer anyway."

"Tai, it's been fifteen years! Your sister misses you!"

The Digidestined of Courage closed his eyes at that, his fists balling up tightly as a wave of emotion washed over him. "I know."

Matt glowered at him, not satisfied with such a short response. "Tai…"

"Your way home is closing," Tai interrupted, still not opening his eyes. "Go on. Don't be like me. You have Sora and your kids waiting for you, remember?"

The blond-haired man looked at him, baffled. "What? I don't have any kids…"

"Not yet."

Tai's sudden uppercut caught him completely flatfooted and the man slumped into his arms.

"Oops," he chuckled in embarrassment. "I keep mixing things up." Adjusting his grip, he dragged Matt over to Izzy and passed him off to the computer nerd.

"Whoa!" Izzy grunted, nearly dropping him as Gabumon hurried over and took his partner by the legs.

"Easy there!" The dog digimon turned toward Tai questioningly. "Did you have to punch him?"

"He wouldn't leave otherwise if I didn't. You can tell him it's payback for the shiner he gave me. Now go on and get out of here. The portal's closing."

Izzy nodded. "We still need to talk more. If what you said earlier is true…"

"The portal, Izzy," Tai frowned. "Don't make me punch you out too."

Taking the hint, Izzy and Gabumon dragged Matt's unconscious body out of the digital distortion, just in time for the tear to snap shut.

**###**

Matt emerged from the Urazoe household, a grim expression on his face. Rika stood at the edge of the porch, her clothes different as her dip in the ocean necessitated a change. She didn't like them, but compared to the rest she had been offered, she could live with it until hers were dry again. It was a small, sleeveless top with pink and red stripes that showed more belly than she was comfortable with, but the pants were something a little closer to normal, if a bit small on her.

_It was either this or the dress,_ she grumbled mentally, feeling her ponytail brush against the back of her neck, having had to adjust it to make room for the hat to shield her as best she could from the sun. _I'd rather burn than wear a dress._

"I've booked a flight for us," Matt said to her. "We can leave for the airport as soon as your clothes are dry."

"Fine," Rika replied with a nod. "So what was all that about earlier? You couldn't exactly answer any questions after all. And your brainy friend wasn't volunteering anything."

Matt grimaced, feeling the tension of the bruise forming under his skin. "A lot of things," he said finally.

"Don't give me that," Rika scowled, folding her arms together. "I heard what he said about prophecies and about how we were needed to beat Mephistomon. You and him DNA Digivolve to Omnimon and you needed _us?_ What's going on?"

Prophecy! The very idea made her blood boil. She hated feeling like she had no control in her life.

"I wouldn't take prophecy too seriously," came the voice of Izzy as he stepped onto the porch, laptop slung under his arm. "Many prophecies in the digital world are less about foretelling destiny as if they're inevitable so much as they are about letting us know how to defeat an enemy. The prophecy about the Dark Bats for example helped us learn a means to digivolve to Mega by combining the energies of two crests."

"They couldn't just tell you that ahead of time?" Rika snorted.

"The Dark Masters were in control of most of the digital world," Izzy pointed out. "Many of Gennai's allies and Homeostasis had to pass information on somehow without attracting too much attention."

Rika _harrumphed_ again and glanced down in the direction of the others.

"So we're some special _trinity,_ or something, huh? That weird attack we did combined… That's what we were needed for?"

That was another thing she didn't like about this whole series of affairs. She felt as though they were merely being _used_ to solve the Digidestined's problems. It reminded her too much of the Nightmare Soldiers and how they exploited her and Renamon.

"The forces of _light_ don't seem like they're any better than the forces of darkness."

Matt eyed the girl with a dark look. "The forces of light are a reason _why_ we're all still standing here, instead of swallowed by the Dark Ocean and Demon Lords."

Rika made another _harrumphing_ noise and turned away, starting down the path toward where the others were goofing around. She knew from how he spoke to her that she wasn't going to get anything more out of him. She wasn't at all sure what to make of any of this, but none of the Digidestined seemed to know…or were willing to talk.

_Henry and Gogglehead might be okay with letting things lie and trusting Tai and his friends…but…_ She paused in her thoughts as she reached the bottom of the hill, her expression one of grimness. Matt… She trusted Matt when she was a child. He babysat her on occasion and she admired his calmness under fire and how readily he weathered her tempers. Now…

_"Keep an eye on him,"_ she remembered Tai telling her. She hated considering the source, but the advice rang true for anyone. She'd have to keep an eye on everyone.

Her eyes fell on Takato as he pulled away from Guilmon. Their eyes locked and a wide, if nervous smile broke across the boy's face.

"Rika!" he called out, waving at her to join them. "Come on! Kai's going to take a picture of us!"

_Great. A fashion shoot._

Keeping her expression neutral, Rika went over to join them anyway. Takato and Henry were sitting on a boat. Climbing aboard, Rika set herself down, nodding to each of the boys in turn.

"All right," she said, settling in while Henry eyed her in amusement, clearly picking up on her discomfort. "Let's do this."

"Okay, Kai!" Takato called out to his cousin, leaning back and flashing the V sign. "We're ready!"

"Say cheese!" Kai said, raising the camera and taking aim.

_One thing's for sure, we're not forgetting this summer,_ Rika thought as the camera flashed, capturing their moment, commemorating their victory. At the click of the camera flash, Rika swore she felt another one, as though something had just slid into place.

_We're complete,_ she thought in surprise, feeling that strangest sense of the inevitable and hating it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: And so ends the Battle of Adventurers movie. I'm going to be taking some time away from this story and change gears back to A Story for Suzie for a bit before starting on the Deva arc. It's going to take some time, as I need to reread A Story for Suzie and consult my plans while working out how to make the Deva arc fit into the Trinity timeline. My thanks go out to everyone who has followed this story so far, and I hope to see you all again.
> 
> Until next time.
> 
> -Crazyeight


	85. Chapter 85

In the depths of the digital world, beneath a cloud choked sky, an armored, winged tiger stood and watched as, in the distance, a portion of the land groaned and splintered, and from it rose a single, floating droplet of red. The tiger snarled at the sight, but remained at his post. A shadow fell over him as above, a long, serpentine dragon flew over and breathed emerald fire at the cracks, dissolving the red droplet and causing the surrounding rock to melt and fuse back together. The dragon circled around and swept back toward the long, spiked and vicious looking spire. The fortress of their master; the ruler of the Devas.

The Digimon Sovereign.

Snarling again, the tiger Deva – Mihiramon – paced, his tail slashing through the air angrily. To think that _Makuramon_ had been chosen to lead the first foray into the realm of the humans. To _scout ahead,_ as if the Devas needed to know anything about their enemies before engaging in glorious battle with them.

_Humans!_ Such weak, pathetic creatures. Mihiramon scoffed at the notion of them being a threat at all that they needed to be wary of before battling them. It was because of all this slowness in action that was the reason _why_ their world was in such danger now. It was why the Light had lost the Catalyst.

Still… The Sovereign commanded, and he would obey.

He bared his fangs and gave a low, guttural growl before glaring skyward at the glowing orb of the Earth that hung in the sky.

He would obey, but when the order was given, he would give no quarter and ask for none. Humanity would fall to the Digimon Sovereign and then there would be a reckoning.

**Digimon Trinity**

Chapter 85: Approaching Storms

Prophecy.

Fate.

_Destiny._

These words echoed in Rika's mind as she ate her breakfast, just as they had all summer since getting back home. For once, she didn't have much taste for her usual miso soup, but she ate it anyway in a mechanical manner, if only to have something in her so her stomach wouldn't complain to her later. She supposed she needn't worry about that, as she knew she could pick up something to eat, especially from the Matsuki bakery now that the owners knew she was friends with their son, but she didn't want to encourage the thought process that she _knew_ was forming in their heads as a result of her brief encounter with them.

She frowned. So much in her life had changed in such a short amount of time, and a great deal of things had occurred as well. The incident at Okinawa for example… The meeting with the legendary Digidestined, Tai Kamiya, who had been missing for fifteen years, occupied her thoughts a great deal.

_A Trinity…_ she thought, stirring her spoon in her soup bowl a little bit harder than she intended, her irritation making itself known. _It almost feels like we're really no different from the Nightmare Soldiers. We're just…chess pieces in some kind of game!_

The worst part about it had been how she felt that strange sense of _belonging_ when Takato's cousin took a picture of herself, Takato and Henry together. That sense of _completion_ and that something inevitable was fast approaching them.

That Mephistomon was only the _beginning._

She sighed and pushed the bowl back, finding that she couldn't finish it in the end after all. She would have to pick something up when she finally became hungry.

"Rika!" called the voice of Seiko from outside. "Rika, are you still eating?"

"Yes, Grandma," she replied, pulling the bowl back and lifting it to her mouth so that she could sip the broth, if only so that she could show she was making _some_ progress in eating so that the elder matriarch wouldn't worry about her. Seiko soon stepped into view and presented a letter to her, to which Rika took and glanced at the address and the name of the sender.

_Takato…_ she thought, her brow furrowing ever so slightly. Opting to not take any chances that he was in trouble again and mailing was the only – if extremely unlikely – method of reaching her, she opened it and slipped out a folded letter.

Before she could unfold it, she suddenly became painfully aware that her grandmother was still in the room, appearing almost expectant for whatever news her granddaughter just received.

_It's not like I get mail all that often,_ she thought, the furrow in her brow deepening now. _Great. Now Grandma's going to get it in her head that we like each other or something._

"Grandma?" she asked, lifting an elegant eyebrow. The elder matriarch smiling, she nodded, already guessing what she was about to say.

"All right. I'll excuse myself. But you can't blame your grandmother for being happy seeing you having a friend who sends you letters from so far away. In a way, it reminds me of how I met your grandfather."

_"Grandma!"_ Rika exclaimed, her face flushing bright red. Fortunately for her, Seiko appeared to not have noticed, as she had already turned and left the room…or so it appeared at first glance. Taking a deep breath to settle herself, she unfolded the letter and a photo spilled out onto the table. Picking it up, she grimaced, seeing that it was the one Kai took from after their adventure in Okinawa had ended. Her gaze danced from herself to the two boys by her side. Takato flashing the 'V' sign as he smiled widely, and Henry leaning over him to get into the picture. His expression was smaller, but still smiling, apparently grateful that they had won their battle.

Her gaze then fell on herself, and how flat and neutral she looked, as if wanting to take as little part in the portrait as possible, which, truth be told, she didn't.

_Still…_ she thought, her thumb tracing over the photo unconsciously where Takato was. _Friends…_

She never quite had friends before, but… _were_ they really friends? Or was it all because of a 'stupid prophecy'? She thought about the crest that had activated for her during the final battle with Gulfmon. She thought about Takato's dream – still unexplained – about her, all winding around and about with seemingly no end.

She glared at the photo now and glanced over at the letter, quickly reading through it. Mostly nonsense from Takato about how he was coming home and looking forward to seeing her again and how glad he was that she was there for him…

_Gogglehead,_ she thought irritably, slipping the photo back into the letter and folding it up. Forcing herself to finish up her soup, she got up from the table and took her dishes over to the dishwasher. Setting them inside, she turned the machine on and left it at that, heading off in the direction of her room to hide the photo and letter somewhere that they wouldn't be found.

It was just then that a sleepy, ragged looking Davis emerged from the room belonging to Rumiko, wearing clothes that looked more than a little bit wrinkled, as though they had been slept in. Rika paused at this unexpected sight, eyebrows rising up, and blinked. Seeing the girl, Davis suddenly looked sheepish and tugged at his shirt.

"Um… Hi?" he greeted, a light blush crossing his features. "I bet you're wondering why I'm still here…"

It was just then that Rika realized that the clothes that looked slept in were the precise clothes that he had been wearing when he and her mother went out on their little 'date' last night. Her lips parted as anger suddenly burst forth, hot and roaring like a lion.

**###**

_"Let's go through this again…"_

Matt sat beneath the column of light as voices spoke to him from the darkness surrounding him. He frowned at the shadows, trying to pierce them with his gaze and failing.

"No. Not again. We've already been through this a hundred times since I got back. You've been through it with Izzy a hundred times, and you've been through his laptop enough times that it feels like you gave it a colectomy. I don't have anything new to add and I know _nothing_ about those kids that were in the Celestial Kingdom."

_"You were there though,"_ reported one of the voices, a masculine one. _"Surely, given the incident in question you would have met any number of the Digidestined that were chosen there."_

"I never met _any_ of the ten kids you mentioned there," Matt replied. "No Ten Legendary Warriors. I can't tell you anything about what Tai is doing and we only briefly met with Cherubimon before he sent us into digital space. I literally can't tell you anything more than what Tentomon told you in any of his messages! Now let us go! We've been here long enough for several decontaminations! We're safe and you've gotten all that you can out of us!"

There was silence, a silence that stretched further until, finally, a door opened, revealing the shadowy outline of a figure. The door soon closed, and the figure disappeared into the darkness of the room, but it didn't take long for that to change.

From the shadows, a figure stepped into view, flicking a lighter open and closed. A lighter that Matt recognized all too well. His gaze shooting upward, his shocked face fell upon his younger brother before he schooled it to neutrality.

"So… Finally decided to pay your brother a visit for once," he said finally. Takeru flicked his lighter closed with a sharp click.

"We're letting you go," he said simply. "You're right. We have everything we need from you, and you, Izzy, and Gabumon all check out. You did not bring any viruses home with you."

"So why all of this?" Matt asked accusingly, rising up from his seat, a fiery look in his eyes. "We've been stuck here all month since we got back!"

He felt a cold fury running through him like a river. Here… His brother… Working for the organization that kept him here, away from his wife. Granted, he was allowed to contact her, but still… He clenched his fists tightly, wanting to slug his wayward sibling. Oh, how much things had changed since the war.

He couldn't attack him though. He was family after all.

_And there's also the fact that if I punched him, I'd have a hard time doing it a second time,_ he added irritably, unclenching his hands.

"It is just a precaution," Takeru replied, flicking the lighter open once more. "You were in a unique situation. Many people exist in this world would like to know that you fought Apocalymon and didn't bring anything home with you, given recent events. We're all on edge as a result of the V-Pet virus. For all anyone knew, that could have been something you picked up as well."

Matt folded his arms over his chest, his eyes meeting that of his brother's.

"I wish it felt like I could understand that," he replied. "But you know better."

Takeru flicked the lighter closed before turning away. "As I said. It was just a precaution. Your partner will be waiting for you down in the lobby."

"Hold on!" Matt growled, starting toward him and grabbing his brother's elbow. "You've held me here all summer interrogating me without me knowing it was you! You're in a position to know _something!_ What's going on? What is it about those three kids that fought Mephistomon? Is there something _more_ that we need to know about that's coming? Tai… He mentioned a prophecy…"

Takeru pulled his arm out of his brother's grasp and turned back toward him.

"It's time for you to go home, Yamato," he said simply, his tone giving every indication that this conversation was over. "Sora is waiting for you."

**###**

Matt sat in the seat of the subway, his arms on his knees and his hands folded together as he thought about his meeting with his brother.

_TK…_ He closed his eyes. It was never easy thinking about his brother. It was strange thinking about how the easiest time he had with his younger sibling on his mind was when they were kids – specifically when TK had been twelve and about to embark on the next adventure into the digital world. The touch of the darkness had still been there then, marring him, but he still allowed light to reach him.

_He still looked like he allowed himself to have hope,_ he thought, closing his eyes as the train began to slow down. Of course, Patamon's death – the _final_ death – impacted him greatly, as it would have any one of them. He knew that, but that didn't make things any easier. For all intents and purposes, Takeru had severed all ties with the Digidestined and turned instead to programs and organizations that operated, ironically, in the shadows. He fought alone where before he fought with his friends.

The train ground to a halt and Matt got to his feet. The door opening, he stepped out and lost himself in the throng of people, grateful that, so far, no one recognized him for who he was. Matt Ishida, Digidestined, war veteran and astronaut.

"Matt!"

At least, for that second. Not that Matt cared as he smiled at the sight of Gabumon running toward him, having just hopped off the Digimon section of the train.

"Gabumon!" Matt called back as the blue-furred wolf ran up to him. "You didn't have any trouble, did you?"

"Nope!" Gabumon smiled. "I got to talk to a very beautiful Floramon. I might even have a date."

Matt chuckled, patting his partner on the back as they turned away and began to head out of the subway.

"Sly wolf," he teased. Gabumon chuckled at that.

"There wasn't anything sly about it. I was polite and listened intently, just like you are with Sora. That's the way to do it, right?"

Matt shrugged. Beyond Sora, he hadn't really held that much interest in the dating scene. He just had too hard a time wanting to connect to people, especially outside the other Digidestined.

"Anyway, it was good to see TK again," Gabumon continued as they began to climb the stairs. "I just wish it was under better circumstances." He glanced at Matt out of the corner of his eye. "Do you think he'll be able to help us?"

Matt frowned, sticking his hands in his pockets.

"I'm not sure I even _want_ him to help us at this point," he said. "But…we don't have a choice. _If_ something more is coming, we're going to need all the help we can get."

He narrowed his eyes as his tone became softer; growing in concern.

"I just wish we knew more about what Tai was talking about when he talked about the prophecy. A _Red Tree of Darkness._ That doesn't help us much at all."

Gabumon could only nod in agreement. No help at all was an _understatement._ When Tai had spoken to them about the prophecy, he admitted that there had been…problems with it. Much of the information regarding it being damaged or otherwise destroyed being among them.

They continued on in silence for the rest of the trip home, and after what felt like an eternity, they arrived. Slipping the key into the lock, Matt pushed open the door, finding a waiting Sora smiling at him.

"Hey there," the ginger-haired young woman greeted as he closed the door behind him. Making her way over to her husband, Sora slipped her hands behind his head and gave him a gentle kiss, welcoming him back from his long journey. Returning it eagerly, Matt's hands slid along her waist and encircled her back, holding her close. Their world, briefly, shrank to the two of them, and they basked in the warmth of their love before they pulled away.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, beautiful," he smiled, leaning his head against hers. Sora giggled and brushed her lips against his.

"Don't worry," she replied. "I'm just glad you're safe."

They held each other like that before, seized by sudden inspiration, Matt swept the Digidestined of Love up into his arms, causing her to yelp and laugh in surprise.

_"Matt!_ What are you…?"

The blond-haired man kissed her passionately while he kicked off his shoes.

"Doing my duty as your husband," he said, pulling away. "I need to make up for lost time."

Laughing, Sora blushed and hid her face against the crook of his neck.

"Oh, _Matt…"_ she sang huskily, grateful that they were united once again.

**###**

Impmon jerked and sat up on the tree branch that served as his current sleeping spot. Pressing a gloved hand against his face, he grimaced.

"Weird dreams…" he muttered under his breath. The dream was already fading, but for the moment it remained strong. Something involving a battle with an angel… Desperate, full of sound and fury. In the end, it signified nothing, and Impmon rose to his feet and padded along the branch, already forgetting about the dream and focusing instead on what to eat for dinner.

As he went, he caught sight of movement down below and found a brown-haired girl passing below him, humming happily to herself as she went. His green eyes followed her for a moment, a part of him considering giving her a quick scare to help him shrug off the remainder of his sleep-dulled mind, but deciding that his stomach was more important, he, like the dream, quickly forgot about her and promptly blasted off into the sky.

Maybe if he was lucky, he could sucker ol' Pineapple Head into giving him his grub before he went about looking for something to keep him entertained until it was time for him to eat again.

**###**

Jeri skipped along the streets as she hurried on to her home, a small tavern that her father and stepmother owned together. It began with her father and birth mother years and years ago, and had been a staple in Shibuya for as long as she could remember, and every now and then, when business became particularly, well, _busy_ she would help out with waitressing or dealing with drunks.

It was funny, in a way, that this was something she shared in common with Takato. Both of their families owned a business that they lived in. It wasn't much, and her friends wouldn't think much of it, but sometimes Jeri felt that it mattered.

It wasn't all they had in common of course, but it was the most notable one.

"Hi Dad!" Jeri called as she stepped into the tavern, to which the man – gruff and heavy set – greeted her with a wave before returning to his work. Behind him, a portly woman with a kindly face turned and smiled.

"Did you have a good day?" her stepmother asked.

"Yeah," Jeri smiled, albeit less enthusiastically as she ducked into the main work area, bee-lining toward the stairs that led to the living section. "I'll be right down to help out in a minute."

She dashed up the stairs, missing her stepmother's slightly hurt look at being brushed off so readily by the normally happy, eager to please girl, and quickly entered her room. No sooner did she do so did her amber-colored eyes grow wide at the sight before her.

_"Masahiko!"_ she exclaimed, seeing her half-brother sitting on the floor, a binder open and a pile of cards spread all around him, mouth wide and laughing with all the fun he was having. His bubbly attitude evaporated almost immediately upon seeing his older sister in the doorway, clearly upset with what he was doing.

Before he could say anything or start crying, Jeri hurried on over and quickly snatched the cards out of his hands.

"Masahiko, I _told_ you to not go through my things!" she tutted, giving her brother a stern look before looking over the mess he made. "Ohhh… _Now_ I'm going to have to re-alphabetize them again!"

Masahiko's face twisted up at having the cards taken from him so forcefully and almost immediately he broke down into a crying mess.

_"I was just playing! You don't have to be so mean about it!"_

Jeri's face snapped up and she dropped the cards to the floor.

"Ah! Masahiko! I didn't… Don't cry! Masahiko!"

But it was too late. Her younger brother was already up and running out of their room, his cries echoing loudly through the hall. Her expression falling, she dropped her eyes down to the pile of cards, all of which were labeled with the _Digimon_ label. Sighing, she gathered them together and took them over to her desk, squirreling them away as deep as she could in case someone like Miki or Ayaka arrived unannounced. Her two friends – Miki especially – teased Takato and his friends bad enough about their 'silly little game'. The last thing she wanted right now was for them to join in on it.

Pausing on one card in particular – that of a card portraying a beast-like, heavily muscular, cat-like man with a thick mane of golden hair, carrying a massive sword in a hand that looked like it could wrap around her waist and still have plenty of room left over – she quickly covered it with a pile of old school papers. A touch of messiness that she didn't like in her room, but it would have to do until she could reorganize her collection.

_"Jeri!"_ came the call of her father from downstairs. _"What did you do to make your brother upset? Apologize to him now!"_

"I'll be right down!" Jeri called, making sure that her hiding spot was secure before digging out her sock puppet. She would let him play with that. Why it was her little brother was so obsessive with playing with her things, she didn't know, but she would do her best to smooth things over as much as she could.

**###**

The creature gazed up at the digital representation of the Earth hanging in the sky, large, wide eyes on a flat, almost entirely featureless face, save for brown fur and wide, protruding ears, showed no emotion. A long, monkey-like tail curled and uncurled before it knelt down and leapt up into the air, moving from level to level, getting ever closer to the Earth.

As it went, it spied movement from out of the corner of its eye, and it turned to find a vaguely humanoid shape, its body burning a dark red crimson, save for a single, elongated face mask and a set of claws. The monkey creature narrowed its wide eyes, recognizing it for what it was.

A DarkLizardmon. A _Nightmare Soldier._

Changing course, the monkey raised a hand and summoned a crystalline orb in one hand before hurling it at the DarkLizardmon. The Champion-level digimon, saw this and with a cry of terror leapt upward, narrowly dodging the attack.

"You won't escape a _Deva_ that easily!" the monkey shouted, giving chase with a maniacal laugh. To think that the forces of Darkness could escape the Light… How full of themselves they were! Well, this was _one_ Nightmare Soldier who wouldn't live to learn that lesson, though it most certainly would serve to be a lesson to whatever companions it had that still lived. Summoning another orb, the monkey Deva, Makuramon, took aim and…

Suddenly space around the two digimon warped and flexed, causing them both to scream before reality _snapped_ and tore. They were _breaching_ into the real world!

_How?!_ Makuramon exclaimed mentally as they were drawn into the material realm, a heavy fog already forming around them. _We're not near enough yet for that sort of thing to occur!_

Makuramon received no answers of course, and they both spiraled into the world of humans.

**###**

Takeru sat in his office, flicking his lighter open and closed, a thoughtful expression on his face. The program he had just run – a small scale version of what he hoped to build – was a success. He had successfully manipulated a patch of the digital world.

A small smile curved upward on his lips and he flicked the lighter open.

_Soon, forces of Darkness… You will at long last bow to your masters._

His cell phone rang and pulling it out, he hit the reply button.

_"A digimon just bio-emerged,"_ came Yolei's voice from the other end. Takeru nodded.

"Have the helicopters prepped and ready to move out," he said. "We're going on a little hunt."

With that, he snapped his lighter shut with a loud _click._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back to Digimon Trinity! In celebration of Tri's latest release of episodes and with A Story for Suzie entering its final arc, I felt it was time to revisit Trinity and get it started again. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and I'll see you all next time. :)
> 
> -Crazyeight


	86. Episode 13: Juggernaut

Takato sighed happily as he lay in his bed, grateful to be back in its snug and warm embrace once more. As much as he enjoyed visiting with Kai during the summer, there really was no other place like home when it came to sleeping at night. Even Guilmon agreed when he returned to his concrete bunker, as odd as that was to Takato, and dug himself a new hole for him to nap in. A part of him felt guilty that his partner had to live in such conditions while he got to have a nice home with all of its creature comforts, leaving to wish he could just tell his parents and be done with it, but as Guilmon loved where he stayed and he doubted his parents would react well to their son being partnered with a digital life form, the matter, like he, rested.

For only the moment anyway.

The screen lit up on his digivice and began to beep in alarm, jarring the brown-haired boy out of his dreams. Jolting up from his bed, he looked around, half in panic at the noise before realizing what it was, whereupon he scrambled down the ladder and snatched it up from his desk along with his card box. Within minutes he was dressed, goggles, hoodie and everything. Clipping his digivice to his belt, the boy shot out of his room like a bolt of lightning. He felt a pang of worry inside him as he – carefully, so as to not awaken his parents – made his way down the stairs. Since the incident at Okinawa life had gotten quiet. He kept up with his card drills per Rika's instructions, but lacking the presence of his teacher, he could only go so far and be so creative on his own. Actual experience kept the instincts and skills sharp.

As Rika often reminded him, a Tamer is only as good as their last battle.

_Looks like I'll be able to see how well I'll do tonight since the last fight,_ he thought, slipping out of his home and checking the compass function of his digivice to align himself with the direction he needed to go. Feeling that he would meet Guilmon at the battle sight, he took off, preparing himself mentally for everything, be it a Koromon to the Dark Masters.

_I just hope things don't get messy,_ he thought, the pounding of his feet ringing in his ears.

**###**

Makuramon gave a loud cry as he struck pavement, bursting out of the digital world and into the real one in an explosion of mist, his data sparking as electricity flew from it, feeling erratic and scrambled. Where was he? _Who_ was he? What…?

It didn't take long for the Deva to settle himself however, the algorithms that made up his body starting to stabilize and settle back into place. However, he still felt the odd twinge within him. Climbing to his feet, he took a gander at his surroundings, his large, round eyes narrowing. Currently there were numerous vague shapes parked around him, but as the fog of the digital field began to disperse, he recognized them as the strange, primitive modes of transportation that humans utilized in the material world. _Cars,_ if he recalled his research correctly…

His thoughts were interrupted by the motion of a figure just off to his periphery, and suddenly a jagged claw surrounded by burning, dark-red fire slammed into him, sending him careening backward. He snorted as he flipped over and quickly found his footing, recognizing his attacker as the Nightmare Soldier – the _DarkLizardmon –_ he had pursued earlier before they both suddenly bio-emerged. The sudden and unexpected attack _hurt,_ but against one such as himself, his Champion level opponent stood far too below him in power and level to be of any real threat to him, even with the type advantage it held. Lifting a hand, he summoned a pearly white sphere of crystalline light and with a smirk, he pronounced his attack.

_"Primal Orb!"_ he laughed, hurling it at his opponent. The DarkLizardmon dodged to the side, but the attack grazed its hip, which was enough to cause it to fly backward into a helplessly parked car, the air _cracking_ with a sonic boom. His tail flicking about in glee, Makuramon approached.

_"Makaaa…!"_ he laughed. "You thought you could face off against me? A _Deva?!_ Such impertinence! You're _nothing_ but scum on the surface of a pond!"

Lifting his hand, his eyes narrowed, taking pleasure upon seeing the fear in the DarkLizardmon's eyes. Perfect fuel for his attack. A crystalline sphere again materialized in his hand and he pulled back, preparing to fire…

_"Down here, Takato!"_

Blinking, Makuramon scowled and turned in the direction of the voice that he heard, interrupting his kill. His senses extending themselves, he sensed a digimon approaching. A digimon unlike any he had felt before.

_Tsking_ to himself, suspecting it to be one of the partnered digimon, he glanced back at the Nightmare Soldier as it staggered to its feet, fragments from the car falling off its body as it did so.

"Looks like you get a stay of execution," Makuramon grunted before stepping back and fading into the shadows, much to the DarkLizardmon's surprise. He grinned, his eyes flitting over to the crimson dinosaur that was rapidly approaching with a goggle-wearing human behind it.

_Time to take some notes,_ he thought, hopping up to the ceiling and sequestering himself away, out of sight and out of mind of the pair. _Hmmm… Goggles. A marker amongst human leaders if I remember correctly. And…_ Makaaa! _What's this? A_ Hazard _digimon?!_

Makuramon ground his teeth together, feeling his digi-core pulsate erratically at this. What was this… _monstrosity_ doing here in the human world? He had to restrain himself from launching at the mysterious digimon and deleting it then and there on the spot. Hazard digimon were notoriously…well, _hazardous,_ and for now his only mission was to observe and analyze the meager human defenses in preparation for the future.

And _these two_ bore observation now as a _necessity._

**###**

"Whoa…" breathed Takato, taking out his digivice to analyze the newly bio-emerged digimon. The holographic circle rose up from the screen, quickly identifying it as DarkLizardmon, displaying all of its stats. DarkLizardmon were, for all intents and purposes, the viral equivalent to its data-type counterpart, FlareLizamon. Amongst many of the card-collecting fans of the digimon game, while it had some fairly strong abilities, it looked the least interesting compared to cards like Greymon, having a vaguely dinosaur-like build composed of fire, claws, and a metal mask and little else. He remembered Kazu derisively commenting on how it had less personality than a Numemon.

Snorting steam, the DarkLizardmon shook itself and turned toward the two, claws flexing. Remembering the situation they were in, Takato slipped a hand into his pocket and withdrew a card – one that he had recently picked up and would be _perfect_ to use against a fire-type virus such as this.

"Okay!" Takato called out, ignoring the nervous beating of his heart as he brought all his focus on the battle. "Um… We have you cornered! Surrender quietly and you won't get hurt!"

The Nightmare Soldier glanced to the left, burning eyes searching for her earlier attacker, but presently finding no sign of it. _Where…?_ she thought before dismissing it for the time being. Escape… She _had_ to escape! That digimon had been fearsomely powerful, and who knew _when_ it would decide to come back to finish the job.

Growling, DarkLizardmon stalked forward, waving her claws in a threatening manner, hoping to at the very least frighten them into making a mistake so it could rush by them. She was in _no_ mood for battle right now. Most humans, especially children, scattered easily when scared after all?

This human, she quickly learned, was most definitely _not_ one of those humans, as in response, the boy slashed some sort of object – a card – through a device he held in his hand before shouting words as though he were pronouncing an attack.

"Guilmon! MetalGarurumon's Metal Wolf Claw activate!"

DarkLizardmon's eyes furrowed in confusion, and then in _dawning horror_ as the strange, red digimon – a _Hazard_ digimon she quickly realized – reared its head back and blue light shot forth from its gaping maw. The blue energy slammed into her, forming ice around her body, freezing her in place in spite of her flames. Shock from the intense cold hit her hard and, gasping, she tumbled over to the side, her vision swimming with dark spots. A _Mega_ level attack?! She was attacked by a _Mega?!_

_Impossible… This is…impossible…_

All the while, Makuramon watched from the ceiling with keen, interested eyes.

**###**

Takato breathed a sigh of relief as Guilmon growled intensely, his pupils dilated from his savage instincts, but he was quickly relaxing. Approaching his partner, Takato patted him on the head, helping him calm down.

"Good job, Guilmon," he congratulated him. "That Dark Lizardmon was one tough cookie, but you did it."

"Did you say cookie?" Guilmon asked, his pupils returning to normal at the mention of food, causing Takato to laugh.

"I can't believe you're thinking of food right now," he said before turning to DarkLizardmon's unmoving form. "Now what are we going to do with this digimon?" he wondered aloud. "Ken and Rika are probably on their way here so…"

The boy was abruptly cut off as a blinding white light flooded the parking garage, causing him to raise an arm over his eyes protectively. "Huh? What's…going on?"

_"Target confirmed!"_ boomed a voice over the sound of helicopter blades. _"Strike team standing by! Initiate retrieval sequence!"_

Guilmon looked up at the flying helicopters as they circled around the garage, a curious expression on his face. "Are we supposed to fight them, Takato?" he asked as the boy lowered his arm, his eyes getting used to the glaring light as it focused on DarkLizardmon's frozen, still unmoving form.

_"No!"_ Takato exclaimed quickly to prevent his partner from doing anything rash. However, the way those helicopters circled about and also focused their light on himself and Guilmon, he quickly began to wonder otherwise. "I mean…I have no idea," he quickly added. "Maybe we should scram before we find out!"

At this, DarkLizardmon's eyes snapped open, the fire of her heat having revived her and driven back the cold that attacked her core, melting the ice around her body. With tremendous effort, she pushed herself up off the hard ground, the ice around her cracking and falling away. Those lights… They brought back memories from the war. Humans… More humans attempting to capture her. Attempting to send her back to the digital world. This was why she joined the Nightmare Soldiers in the first place! They offered her a way to the real world…to find a partner and grow stronger.

Those hopes however were dashed with Apocalymon's defeat. The rest of her 'comrades'…slaughtered like sheep in a lion's den until all that remained was herself. And now she was being targeted again. Threatened with capture again.

_No…_

"No…" she groaned, rising up to her full height over the goggle-wearing boy, causing his eyes to bulge in their sockets in fear. "I want to stay. Make me stronger! Make me _digivolve!"_

Guilmon crouched down and growled threateningly, but DarkLizardmon was long past such frights from even Hazard digimon now. Desperation drove her on now, and it was that desperation that would see her with a partner before she was done!

Gold spheres rolled into the garage just then, unnoticed by all until they released a cloud of smoke. It fell over the three combatants, and Takato coughed reflexively, raising his arms protectively around his head. He felt something… Some kind of electrical current in the air around him, and he saw sparks flashing here and there.

_"Takatomon!"_ he heard Guilmon cry out, and Takato reached out with one hand, trying to feel for his partner blindly in the smoke.

_"Guilmon! Where are you?"_

A dark shadow emerged from the smoke, and the boy carefully cracked open his eyes. The smoke was rapidly dissipating, at least enough so that he could see what was in front of him.

"Guilmon?"

Only the gaping maw of DarkLizardmon breaking through the smoke answered.

_"Pleeeaaase!"_ she moaned, and for a fraction of a second, Takato swore that he felt his heart stop in his chest. He saw flashes of sparks in the air, and as though it were a signal a scream was ripped free from his throat, mingling with that of DarkLizardmon's as she toppled over to the ground with a heavy thud, leaving Takato standing there, arms folded close to his chest, shaking violently as his heart suddenly remembered to start beating again.

_H-Holy…!_ he thought, suddenly becoming aware of the ticking of a clock nearby.

"You okay?" Guilmon asked, finally coming into view as the last remnants of the smoke was blown away by the wind kicked up by the helicopters as they drew closer.

"Uh-huh…" Takato was all Takato could chatter. Distantly he heard the sound of running feet behind him, but his mind was in a fog all of its own, and all he could see was the DarkLizardmon staring down at him from out of the smoke, looking as though it were about to devour him whole.

_It's just like how Growlmon looked when he was finished with Devidramon…_ he thought as Rika and Renamon drew up next to him, the girl's hand falling onto his shoulder, a worried expression on her face.

"Gogglehead?"

The boy jumped upon finding her suddenly there, and he almost recoiled in response before relaxing, realizing who she was.

"R-Rika," he stammered out, still shivering badly. "You… DarkLizardmon…"

Rika tilted her head, her concerned look only deepening.

"Hey, are you okay?" she asked. "You're shaking."

She frowned, not at all sure what to make of this reaction or how to respond to it. But before either of them could say anything more, Takeru emerged from the remaining smoke, his expression dark as he gazed down at the fallen DarkLizardmon.

"Well, aren't you going to thank me?" he asked, turning toward the pair. "After all, I saved your life. That deserves _something."_

Takato's eyes grew wide at the sight of the Digidestined of Hope standing before him, but not in a good way, as all his previous encounters with the man gave him the impression that he was someone to steer clear of, if only because he was from the government and could take Guilmon away from him if he so much as stepped out of line once.

And here he was, getting into a fight with a digimon.

"This is dangerous work little boy," Takeru continued, flicking his lighter open. "Shouldn't you be napping?"

_That_ earned him a sharp glare from Rika, and Takeru, sensing it, turned toward her with a light smirk on his face.

"Hey!" Rika snapped, stepping in front of Takato protectively. "A digimon bio-emerged here! We wouldn't even be here if you were doing your job keeping them out!"

Takeru simply smirked as a man wearing a mask and eye protection came up and handed him a data pad. Taking it, he signed it and passed it back, and with that, there was a flurry of masked men and women hurrying past them. Taking hold of the DarkLizardmon, they began to snap restraints around her and ran a line of cable from herself over to the helicopter as it came in for a landing.

"At least we agree on something. Digimon are lethal creatures who _should_ be contained," Takeru agreed, flicking his lighter closed as he turned his gaze down toward Guilmon. "Perhaps for your safety I should take your little red friend there too."

_"Leave him alone!"_ Takato gasped, finally coming out of his earlier shock and stepping past Rika now so he could stand by his partner. At the threat, Renamon materialized next to her partner, awaiting her orders. "He's nothing like DarkLizardmon!"

"So young… So naïve," Takeru replied with a shake of his head, and Takato glowered at him.

"Who are you calling naïve?" he demanded hotly, before DarkLizardmon groaned, responding to being hoisted into the air as the Hypnos agents prepared to carry her out into the open so she could be flown away.

"It's alive…" Takato gaped in amazement. "W-What are you going to do with it?"

Takeru simply continued to smirk.

"Maybe I should take your friend," he remarked. "He has a Hazard sign on him. He might become dangerous.

_"No! You'll have to go through me!"_ Now Takato threw himself in front of his partner, arms outstretched protectively as though that would be enough to ward Takeru off. Rika's eyes flicked over to Renamon and back to Takeru and Takato, gauging the situation and considering her options. Right now, Takato was in a bit of a hazardous mental state himself from whatever had him scared earlier. He was liable to do _anything_ , and Guilmon…

_He'll probably do whatever Takato does,_ she thought, and sensing this, Renamon nodded, crouching subtly to grab the pair and pull them out of the situation. They couldn't afford to attack a human in the heat of the moment.

Takeru simply chuckled at the sight.

"Well. Probably more trouble than he's worth, right? Don't say I didn't warn you, _little boy."_

With that, Takeru flicked his lighter open and turned away, leaving the Tamers alone for the time being. Takato, still tense, watched him climb into the helicopter and with that, they lifted off, taking their captive digimon along with them.

" _Mission complete!"_ he heard one of them say right before they flew off. _"Returning captive to headquarters!"_

It was only then that Takato allowed himself to relax, breathing out a sigh that he didn't know he had been holding. Approaching him, her own guard relaxing a little, Rika eyed him with a touch of concern, this time keeping it held back. The last thing she wanted right now was for him to think she was worried about him beyond his being her colleague.

_Whatever we are,_ she thought, folding her arms across her chest as she considered the oddity of having become entangled with this weird boy and his friends.

The word _prophecy_ rang in her mind quietly, but for the moment she dismissed it.

"What was _that_ all about?" she asked as Takato looked back at her exhaustedly.

**###**

Ken, held by Stingmon as they flew through the air, watched the helicopters as they flew off with their digimon cargo. Narrowing his eyes, the former Digimon Emperor tracked their course.

"Those are Takeru's copters," he said, noting that their path took them to the towers of the Shinjuku government building – the building that now housed the agency known as Hypnos. Not that he needed them to do so for him to know. He recognized the smoke agent that still wafted around the area. It utilized similar effect as digimon did when they bio-emerged, and then sending an electrical current through the field to disrupt the digimon's AI algorithm.

_Not very useful past the Champion level, but it does the job…when it gets used._

"Do we follow them?" asked Stingmon. Ken thought about it for a moment before nodding.

"Yes, but keep your distance. We don't want Takeru to catch us spying on him or anything."

"Understood," the insect-Champion nodded, and with that he flew after their targets. As they drew near, Ken withdrew a camera and took some quick snapshots of the scene as the helicopters landed and began to offload their cargo. He frowned, zooming in for a better image, but so far he wasn't seeing much that looked out of the ordinary. When Takeru decided to remove a digimon, he tended to take it back to Hypnos for immediate transportation back to the digital world; provided, that is, that the digimon cooperated or was properly sedated, which DarkLizardmon was, fortunately.

Still, as he watched and continued to take photographs – knowing full well that if Takeru or any other agency caught him, his license would be suspended on the spot and he would most likely be arrested – he couldn't help but feel that there was _something_ he was missing in all of this. Something _more_ than just a routine capture of a violent digimon.

Frowning, he took some more photos of the surrounding area before glancing up at Stingmon.

"Okay… There's not much else we can do here for now. Let's get out of here."

With that, Stingmon banked and flew them both away and back toward the sight of the bio-emergence, the two of them wondering if any of the Tamers had remained for them to question.

**###**

_Interesting and interesting…_ Makuramon thought, creeping out from the garage once the humans and digimon had all vacated it. Glancing around him, he began to scale the wall, hopping from level to level until he reached the top and settled himself down. So far there were two unique humans in this city partnered to digimon – a Renamon and a previously unknown species with a Hazard marking. And two Digidestined were in the area as well – both readily recognizable due to the extensive files that the Sovereign had on them.

_This will most certainly effect my master's plans,_ he thought, raising a hand and allowing a crystalline orb to materialize in his palm once more. Downloading his notes on the current situation as he saw it, he flung it up into the air where it disappeared in a haze of fog. Settling back down, he smiled at the human city. The sight of it offended him, but knowing that it would be wiped off the face of the map soon enough pleased him, and he liked to imagine what the view would look like once all the humans and all signs of their infestation were eradicated.

Certainly nothing like this, that much was for certain.

After a moment, he began to climb back down, casting his eyes around him not only for any sign of eyes that could catch him unawares, but also of places that could provide him with a disguise that would help him blend in. At least until his data had settled down enough for him to manipulate properly.

Until then…

_Makaaa…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While watching the first few minutes of the episode, I realized that DarkLizardmon was downed by what looks like some kind of Taser that wasn't readily visible on a casual viewing. This stands in contrast to what I have written, mainly because:
> 
> a.) I didn't see the taser until tonight and over the years I had already come up with an idea on why those gas balls were effective against a digimon when everything else failed, while also somehow generating electricity.
> 
> b.) This might sound a little pretentious on my part, but it fits the story setting a little better, given that anti-digimon ordinance – begun at some point prior to the events of Tri and the later war – would have advanced as the study of digimon would produce a viable understanding of digimon anatomy and how their data functions. Unfortunately for Hypnos and the rest of the world, it only works on some Champion and most lower levels as those forms tend to observe the universe's physical laws more than Ultimate or higher.
> 
> Anyway, hope you all enjoyed this latest installment, and I'll see you all next chapter! :D


	87. Episode 13: Fearing the Dark Future

"Thanks for showing up tonight, Rika," Takato said as the fire-haired girl escorted the boy and his partner through the park. The Digimon Queen glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, a nonchalant expression on her face that belied how she felt internally.

"I didn't do it for you, Gogglehead," she replied, wincing internally at how that sounded, even though she was honest. Nonetheless, she pressed on. "This is my job after all."

"I know," Takato nodded, patting his partner on the head. "Still…it means a lot anyway. Call me weird, but seeing you tonight was…I don't know." He scrunched his face up, struggling for the right words to say, and failing. The fact that Rika was out there, fighting for something other than simply destroying digimon, willing to come to the aid of others…it stood in stark contrast to their disastrous first encounter, and the first time she showed up and saved him and Henry from the Vilemon. While he couldn't say that they were friends, even with the photo Kai took of them following their victory of Mephistomon, it was nice seeing her.

And just like that, he had the right words, and he said them.

_It was_ nice _to see me?_ she thought in bewilderment, scowling a little, grateful to the darkness of the park for hiding the slight blush that colored her cheeks. _What kind of Gogglehead_ are _you?_

_A stupid one, that's who,_ Rika replied to herself, her fingers curling into her palm. Now that she thought about it, didn't he look oh-so-happy when she showed up to help him at the tunnel with finding his partner? And of course, there was that insanely ridiculous _dream_ of his.

_He's always got that stupid smile on his face._ Her frown deepened as she remembered teasing him outside of the alley where they met, just near her home. Teasing him about 'being in love with her'. Did he think that _they_ were destined to be together or something?

Again, she thought back to that sense of completeness that she felt when she joined Henry and Takato for their photo op.

_Like pieces to a puzzle coming together,_ she thought, her nails digging into her skin.

"Uh…Rika?"

_"What?"_ The girl's violet eyes snapped over to Takato as she broke out of her thoughts, irritation flashing through her heart. At once she saw the surprised look on Takato's face, and she quickly dialed it back, reminding herself that, this time, he hadn't done anything to _actually_ annoy her.

"Sorry," she sighed, stuffing her hands into her pockets. "I…was looking forward to some action tonight, that's all. It's not your fault."

"Oh," Takato relaxed a little, but he felt a bit troubled by this admission of her looking for a fight.

_I thought she saw digimon as living creatures now. I guess I was wrong about that…_

Except…he wasn't entirely sure that she _didn't_ see digimon as living things, so much as she enjoyed the thrill of battle.

_I was looking for a fight too once. After that fight with IceDevimon, I got so excited…_

His brow furrowed slightly, thinking about IceDevimon and what he tried to do to Rika. He thought about the DarkLizardmon, breaking through the cloud of smoke, screaming at him to make her digivolve.

_Are all digimon like that?_ he wondered, glancing worriedly over at Guilmon. He hadn't thought about it before. None of the documentaries or histories seemed to give that impression, at least with regards to digimon that weren't evil, but it was something invoked in the card game and those who expressed anti-digimon sentiments.

Could there be a seed of truth in it beyond the card game?

Finding the stairs that led to Guilmon's home, Takato turned off toward them, only to pause and turn, seeing Rika continuing on her own. Sensing his gaze, the girl glanced at him out of the corner of her eye.

"This is as far as I'm going to go with you, Gogglehead," she told him pointedly. "I'm not walking you home."

"Uh…right," Takato nodded, kicking himself mentally for thinking…thinking _what_ exactly? Pulling on a small smile, he waved at her. "I'll see you tomorrow, bright and early for training, right?"

Rika nodded as she continued on. "Don't be late, or else it's an extra lap around the park for you."

Takato gave a light laugh at that before pausing, wondering if she was serious. Before he could come up with an answer, he jolted back to attention as Guilmon pressed against him, gold eyes looking up at him with concern.

"Did you want her to walk you home?" the crimson dinosaur asked, causing the boy to blush sharply.

"I wha…?" Takato gaped. "No! I wasn't thinking anything like that! I…" His eyes fell back on Rika's back as she disappeared into the night, his expression softening. "I don't know. I guess I just wish we would be friends or something. I mean, I know we work together, but a lot of the time I feel like she just tolerates me because she has to."

Scratching the back of his head, Takato pressed his lips together. "Well… I know that not everyone can be friends. I guess I just got my hopes up because we're both Tamers."

"Maybe she'll come around," Guilmon chirped as they turned and resumed their trek up the stairs. "But how come you want to be friends with Rika? She always smells angry and she doesn't like playing games all that much."

"Unless you count the card game," Takato pointed out, reaching the top of the stairs. "I don't know. I just think she'd be a great person to be friends with. Well, once we got to know each other a little bit."

"Don't you know her a little bit now?"

Stopping at the gate, Takato unlocked it and drew it back, allowing his partner entry.

"I meant a little bit better," he smiled. "Everyone has their bright spots, and Rika… I don't think she'd be that bad of a friend. I think she's driven by something, like maybe she's on a quest…"

"To be really, really strong?" Guilmon asked, as they entered the concrete bunker together.

"Oh!" Takato blinked. "Yeah, that's probably it. She's really big into always getting better."

He was silent for a moment, earning him a tilted, questioning head from his partner as the dinosaur settled down on the cracked and dug up floor.

"You…uh…did great tonight Guilmon," he said finally, starting toward the exit. Guilmon looked at him worriedly. Was this bothering him? Did he want to be strong because he wanted to be friends with Rika?

If that was the case…then…he wanted to be strong too.

"Takato?"

"Yeah?" the boy asked, pausing at the gate.

"I'm getting _better,_ huh, Takato?" Guilmon asked, setting his chin down on the ground. "If I keep winning, I'll get _stronger_ and stronger, and then I'll digivolve again, just like you want me to!"

He thought about how it felt to be both Growlmon and then WarGrowlmon. The two forms felt so very different from himself as Guilmon, and from each other. The power… The sheer size. Before, he felt bad for terrifying his partner, but if Takato wanted him to digivolve and get stronger so he could be friends with the strange and terrifying Rikamon…

"Yeah, sure you will," Takato said, dropping his gaze as uncertainty hit him. Memories of Growlmon – with that eerie red light glowing in his eyes, and the way DarkLizardmon looked when it demanded digivolution from him…

He closed his hands tightly, feeling the tension growing.

Seeing the look on Takato's face, Guilmon got to his feet.

"Waiting's hard," Guilmon continued, wanting to show his enthusiasm. "I want to digivolve right now!" Sighing, he looked despondently up at the ceiling.

"I wonder when I'll change again…"

_Change…?_

Looking alarmed at his partner, images of Growlmon again came to mind. Those red eyes, as blood red as IceDevimon's…

That did it.

_"No more fights!"_ Takato exploded, clenching his eyes shut.

"Huh?" Guilmon looked at him, befuddled by this unexpected reaction. "But no more fights means no more data. How will I get stronger?"

Guilmon's expression grew confused. This wasn't how he thought Takato would act when he heard about his enthusiasm for digivolving.

_Doesn't he want me to get stronger so he can be friends with Rika?_

"I thought…you wanted me to digivolve."

_"I don't!"_ Takato exclaimed, and with that he tore out of the bunker. _"You'll change!"_

"Hah?" Guilmon's ears rose briefly before folding against the sides of his head, his confusion growing even further as Takato's racing steps faded in the rapidly growing distance. "What'd I do? Takato?"

**###**

Rika heard the sound of running down the park path, and as she turned, she saw Takato disappear into the night at a rapid pace. She dismissed him almost immediately once he was out of sight, preferring not to think much further about the strange, Goggle-wearing boy who glimpsed her in a dream. Yet her thoughts drifted to him and events that surrounded her since meeting him on that fateful day.

_Fate… Destiny…_

Rika's eyes narrowed as she picked up her pace, practically storming toward home now, a dark cloud hanging over her head.

_Just what is the digital world up to?_ she thought angrily. _Well, whatever it is, I'm not falling for it! Not like I did for the Nightmare Soldiers!_

"Is everything all right, Rika?" Renamon asked, phasing into view beside the girl, easily falling into step with her as if she had always been there right from the very start.

"I'm… _fine,"_ Rika grumbled. "Just…thinking."

Renamon's azure eyes glinted in the light of the moon, eyeing Rika carefully. She could challenge Rika on her statement of being 'fine', but it wouldn't do any good, and, if anything, would only further her irritation.

It was far better to approach with subtlety and draw the girl out on her own terms.

"Thinking about anything in particular?" she asked. "You've had something on your mind ever since Okinawa. Did something about it bother you?"

"All kinds of things did," Rika replied. Drawing to a halt, she glanced at her partner. "Well… Except for one thing."

"And that is…?" Renamon asked, stopping next to her with an arched eyebrow. Glancing away, Rika shifted uneasily. How could she say that the one thing that didn't bother her was knowing that Renamon was _finally_ free from the Nightmare Soldiers? That they destroyed so many of them along with their leader, and not only that, Renamon helped save the world.

No one could look at Renamon like a criminal when she did something _that_ tremendous.

Finding herself unable to answer, Rika resumed her trek, leaving Renamon to frown slightly at her back before following after her. They got no further than a half-dozen steps however when they caught sight of a flicker of light ahead of them, vaguely human-shaped and walking down the park path.

"What…?" Rika began, one hand going to her digivice while the other went to her card box. Quickly snapping it open, she drew out a card, readying for battle.

"What is that?" she asked in a low voice as Renamon fell into a combat stance, but not before positioning herself between the figure of light and her partner. The vulpine digimon narrowed her eyes, running down the list of entities that resembled such a form. Owikawa seemed like the closest match, but only in terms of the glowing form. This entity was far too humanoid than what the former human's remaining innocence evolved into.

_Homeostasis perhaps?_

The figure continued to walk further down the path, and then it flickered, becoming clearer in shape. Detail emerged, revealing what looked to be a tanned boy with swept back hair and tattered clothes. Some kind of metal item – an armored-braceperhaps? – was strapped to his arm, going up his hand and ending at his elbow. Pausing, the boy turned, revealing a youthful, teenage face and bright blue eyes. His gaze seeming to catch Rika's, a soft smile bloomed into view and then…

_Gone…_ Rika blinked as the boy abruptly winked out of existence.

"Just who…was _that?"_

The night and its stars offered no answers to either Tamer or digimon.

**###**

Takeru exited the elevator that led to the research lab, a small smile on his face as he flicked his lighter open. Before him stood a vat of liquid, and standing over it on a bridge, were a number of technicians, all wearing white lab coats and checking equipment. One of them, a longtime member of Hypnos, stood next to the newest recruit, pointing to a screen displaying a complex image of lines and dots of various colors, all interconnected together to form the figure that lay trapped in the vat below.

The DarkLizardmon.

"These particles are a pattern that occur during the bio-emerging process when a digimon materializes from the net," he explained. "The composition of its body is clearly made up of a false protein that they synthesize with elements from the atmosphere. However, its molecular composition is highly unstable and fragile."

"Bio-emerging takes a lot of energy," Takeru chimed in, approaching the railing. "Gateways normally stabilize digimon immediately, allowing them to function to their fullest potential in the real world, at least for limited periods of time. If they have a human partner with them, they can stave their entropy off. At any rate, without a gateway, digimon are forced to use brute strength to enter the real world, and there are no algorithms to ensure a clean passage. They have to do it all on their own.

"Electrical power… Digital equipment… They'll devour it until they're stable, but they are vulnerable during that time. The smaller the digimon, the easier and faster this process is. High level digimon are better protected thanks to their raw power, but for Champion level digimon…"

His smile grew as he caught sight of DarkLizardmon's form shifting beneath the surface of the suspension fluid below.

"It's not so easy for them. Unlike their higher-level brethren, they are still bound by a number of rules and they cannot so readily shrug them off without a gateway or a partner."

The technician bowed to Takeru in acknowledgment.

_"What is this place? Let me out!"_ came the voice of DarkLizardmon from below. Takeru narrowed his eyes, wondering how the Nightmare Soldier must feel. The suspension fluid was a little something Izzy had theorized about many years ago, for containing digimon and he himself made into a reality. By suspending iron and magnetite or other similar compounds in a carrier fluid and subjecting it to a powerful magnetic field, a digimon could be restrained. There were, of course, limitations. As the digimon levels grew, the power required to keep them in such a state grew as well to the point of impracticality.

For digimon like DarkLizardmon though, it was a perfect prison cell.

_"I don't want to go back!"_ DarkLizardmon begged, his form shifting again beneath the fluid.

Taking hold of the railing, Takeru's grip tightened around it and a dark anger rose up inside him.

"No matter where you choose to live, you are nothing more than a Nightmare Soldier," he berated coolly. Removing his hand, he crossed his arms together and slammed his back against the railing, looking up at the collection of fossils hanging on the walls of the lab so he wouldn't have to look down below; a reminder of evolution and everything humanity and digimon could end up as if they lost this war.

"A Nightmare Soldier…" he repeated, clenching his teeth together. "Such a name has never been more fit for your kind, or any who fight for the Dark Ocean. We dreamed of creatures like you for millennia, and for a time we thought you were mere myths. Only it seems…you were not so, and you had been living with us for all this time. And you used the Internet to evolve and grow beyond what you originally were. And now you attempt to claim the world for your own and make humanity – your creators – your slaves and your weapons."

"Sir," began one of the technicians, approaching Takeru. "Uh… We're ready to initiate the data scan, but the creature may not survive."

Turning back toward the figure of DarkLizardmon, he again took hold of the railing.

"You say that as if I should care," he said with slight, derisive _harrumph._ "This digimon is our enemy and in league with a group that has been in open conflict with our world. It was responsible for the V-Pet virus. Whatever rights to its existence it had were forfeited when it decided its own selfish gains were more important than the safety and wellbeing of others."

He blinked, and for a fraction of an instant, he saw a tall, lithe figure with shining claws and a black leather jacket – one arm with a red bandanna tied to it – towering over him, a triumphant smirk on his masked face. In his claws, he held a young, brown-haired teenage girl.

_Kari…_

He blinked again, and the vat was before him again. Gripping his father's lighter tightly, he set his lips into one grim line.

"A _worm_ is worth more than this _thing,"_ he continued. "But our monstrous friend here is not without its use. By analyzing its data, we can learn how digimon are created and how they can be destroyed." Fixing the technician with a sharp glare, he folded his arms together. "Proceed with the scan. I want full power."

The technician looked over at his partner uncertainly, and he looked back. Prior to this, they hadn't used full power from the start, and preferred to wait until either the digimon's body was stable, or used low settings to ensure their survival before sending them back to the digital world.

"E-Excuse me sir," the technician began, turning back to Takeru. "But I feel I must protest. This digimon is a life form. It _feels_ pain…"

_"Full_ power," Takeru ordered firmly, his tone brooking no room for argument. Swallowing, the full weight of the situation on him, the technician looked back at his partner, who stood at the controls, awaiting instructions nervously. He nodded.

The controls were activated and bright, red light lit up the vat, causing it to hum. From deep within, DarkLizardmon cried out in pain, thrashing wildly now in an attempt to escape. However, his attacks wouldn't activate in this place… This… _trap._ She screamed… Loudly and horribly. It felt as though she were being _ripped apart!_

_"No! Let me out of here!"_

"Its particles are dissipating," the technician said, analyzing the monitors.

"Don't stop until we have _all_ of its data!" Takeru ordered, the crimson light from the vat began to die down. "We're only steps from achieving our ultimate goal!"

There was a final cry of agony and the technician looked away from the monitor, clenching his eyes shut tightly. "It's…gone."

"Its data hasn't disappeared though," his partner read out, having not looked away. "Just the body. Should I save the data?"

He glanced up at Takeru, feeling somewhat hopeful that he would say yes. He was a Digidestined after all, and no matter what he said with regards to digimon like what they had trapped below tonight, surely, he wouldn't order anything else…right?

"I don't see the point" Takeru said, dashing his beliefs as the man's eyes grew wide with shock. "We got all the information we needed from the scanning procedure. Eliminate anything that's left."

"Wh-What?!" he stammered out, but upon seeing the look in his partner's eyes, he looked back down at his equipment, feeling his heart sink into his stomach. Sorrowfully… _Dutifully…_ he reached out and pressed the button that would comply with his superior's orders.

"Y-Yes sir," he said. "Destroying all particles now."

The vat took on an eerie blue glow now and a small smirk grew upon Takeru's face, his father's lighter flicking open.

"Get used to it," he said. "We'll scan as many as we have to until they're _all gone."_

The lighter flicked closed with a loud snap, an exclamation point to the evening's events.


	88. Episode 13: Promises and Friends

The next day, Davis arrived at Ken's detective agency, adjusting his collar, a light blush coloring his cheeks as he did so. His eyes fell on Ken, who was standing at the center island desk, a spread of photographs laid out before him while next to him was Wormmon, holding one of the photos between his claws, scowling at them.

"We're here!" DemiVeemon crowed, hopping off his partner's head, bounding over to Wormmon and hopping up onto the table. "What's going on here?"

"Potential criminal activity," Ken replied, glancing up at DemiVeemon and then at Davis. He arched an eyebrow as his friend and business partner approached. "You…ah…have a good night there, Davis?"

Now it was Davis' turn to raise an eyebrow. "What are you talking abou…?" he began, only for Ken to tap on the corner of his neck indicatively.

"You have a lipstick-stained bruise on you there," Ken grinned. Blushing profusely, Davis slapped his hand to the spot, rubbing at it in embarrassment.

"D-DemiVeemon! W-Why…?"

"I was riding on top of your head," the blue-scaled digimon pointed out with a shrug of his shoulders. "And before that, I was down at your feet. Kind of hard to see that sort of thing, you know?"

Davis groaned and started toward the bathroom, pulling away his hand and grimacing at the smudge of lipstick that stained his skin.

"That didn't take very long," Ken chuckled, returning his attention to the photographs. "When Catherine broke up with you, I was pretty sure you were going to swear off dating for a while."

He had heard about Davis' heartache straight from the man himself upon his return from France, a business venture that also proved to be fruitless as well as loveless, leaving him depressed and aimless.

"Rumiko's been doing a lot to cheer him up over the summer break," DemiVeemon explained, causing Ken to again raise an eyebrow at this.

"Rumiko? As in his ex-girlfriend from high school? The same one who's the mother to Rika?"

DemiVeemon nodded as the man emerged from the bathroom, toweling off his neck. "Speaking of which, Davis said that Rika was pretty mad at him when she found that he stayed the night with Rumiko."

At this, Davis' eyes grew wide as saucers and his face grew dark with shame.

_"DemiVeemon!"_ he exploded loudly while Ken rubbed the bridge of his nose, trying to decide whether this was a good thing or not. On one hand, Davis was less depressed and functioning a bit more normally again – however much that word meant for him – but on the other…

_This could complicate things…_

"What?" DemiVeemon asked, raising an eyebrow. "You slept with her before, and you slept with Catherine. What's the big deal?"

"Ah…" Davis' eyes darted over to Ken, who was setting down a photograph.

"As long as you don't make working with Rika hard or get in the way of your work, it shouldn't be an issue," the dark-haired man said, turning back toward him. "Speaking of which, if you're all cleaned up now, would you care to take a look at these?"

"What's up?" Davis asked, hurrying over, eager to put the topic of his newly budding relationship with Rumiko aside as quickly as possible.

"A question," Ken replied, handing him one of the photos while he lifted another one, his eyes narrowing thoughtfully. "Last night I spotted Takeru apprehending a wild digimon – a DarkLizardmon – after he intervened in a battle between it and two of the Tamers, Takato and Rika."

Davis winced inwardly at Rika's mention but looking down at the photo, he pondered it thoughtfully.

"So, what exactly _is_ the question?"

"I wish I knew," Ken said, dropping the photo on the table and leaning forward. "I keep looking at the pictures I took and I'm not seeing anything out of the ordinary. But _something_ is telling me that there's more going on to this."

Closing his eyes, he heaved a heavy sigh.

"I just wish that I could see what that was. I've been over these photos for hours now. As it stands, there's nothing in these that are of any use."

Davis hummed to himself as he lifted some more of Ken's picture and began to go over them in minute detail. Presently there wasn't much to it other than DarkLizardmon being unpacked from its bindings and being carried inside Hypnos.

"They do this all the time?" he asked. Ken nodded.

"When they catch a digimon that's too large for them to drive, yes. They airlift it to Hypnos. This is standard procedure." Frowning, he lifted up another picture and glanced at it before tossing it aside.

"As I said… Nothing out of the ordinary."

Davis looked back and forth between the photos. "Maybe we're getting too paranoid or something. I mean, I have problems with Takeru and everything, but what kind of things would he be doing? The firewall's still up and he's in the best place to be talking to Gennai and the Sovereigns."

"All kinds of things," Ken replied. "Once that DarkLizardmon goes behind closed doors, anything can happen."

"Ken, I don't think the government would be doing anything crazy. The war spooked too many people about digimon. Even I think that the digimon rights activists are a little nutty with some of the things they talk about online."

"I don't know…" Ken ran a hand through his hair. "Yolei said that one of their technicians quit this morning. A veteran she knows who's been at Hypnos almost as long as she has. She said it was…very abrupt and that he wouldn't talk about it with her when she caught him on his way out. But she said that he was very unsettled."

Ken frowned, remembering his talk with Yolei about her evening when she came home from work this morning. She had been quite unsettled herself, as she had been for the past few weeks now since the V-Pet incident. Last night however had been a bit 'excitable' – for lack of a better word. For starters, a digimon – a tiny one that sounded like Calumon judging from the description she gave – had broken into Hypnos and then just as easily escaped once spotted. Given that the description sounded so very much like Calumon, he reassured her that it was unlikely to be some remnant of the Nightmare Soldiers hanging about, but all the same the incident had caused quite the stir and an investigation was launched to determine _how_ the little creampuff had gotten in. And then, with the technician quitting at the same time…

"Something's going on," he muttered to himself. "I can feel it like a tension in the air."

DemiVeemon glanced at Ken questioningly.

"Are you sure that's not because of something you ate? Because I know I feel that all the time whenever I have something that doesn't agree with me."

"I'm pretty sure it's not," Wormmon huffed. "We banned Yolei from the stove ever since she gave Ken food poisoning by accident. Ever since it's either been me or…well…me. Hawkmon always gets feathers in the food."

The larva digimon turned up at Ken. "But what could it be? We can't really depend on a feeling if there's no evidence. Maybe we are just overthinking things because of how Takeru's been these last few months. He hasn't been the most stable of people after all."

Ken sighed despondently. "Maybe…"

Davis chuckled. "It's kind of weird that _I'm_ the one who's being less paranoid about TP today. You know I don't like the guy after all." Frowning, he glanced back at the photos. "Besides, I don't know what kind of stuff he'd be getting up to just by adding a few more antennae or those weird dish things. I…"

"Antennae?" Ken interrupted. "Dish things?"

"Uh…yeah," Davis said, turning the photos around and pointing to them. "Right here? I walk by Hypnos all the time since I joined your detective agency. It kind of looks like they've added a few more since then. I'm probably wrong though…"

Approaching Davis with a serious expression on his face, Ken took the photo out of his hand and gave it one hard, long look before turning and heading over to his computer – his _new_ computer.

"Uh… Did I say something wrong?" Davis asked, glancing at Wormmon. The larva digimon frowned, crawling to the edge of the table.

"Maybe…" he began. "Or maybe you said something _right_ for once."

"Oh, jeez dude. Talk about harsh."

**###**

Makuramon made his way through the children's playground, doffing the fuzzy hat that sat atop his angular head as part of his disguise. His data had finally settled just enough for him to alter some aspects of his appearance, but not by a great deal, much to his displeasure.

_A Bakemon can do better than this,_ he frowned before coming to a halt. _I'll have to eat some more data and hope I can come up with something better._

He shuddered, the thought of becoming _more_ human not sitting well with him, even if it meant fitting in better for his task. It was bad enough that he resembled a monkey after all, which was _almost_ human from the perspective of his fellow comrades in arms.

_I can almost hear Vajramon now… Makaaa…_

Deciding to cast such concerns to the side for the moment, he cast his eyes about for some sign of the humans that he had been ordered to observe; the same ones that he witnessed last night. Surely, they were nearby and places such as this were the sort that they would gather, being children after all. He grated his teeth, wishing his job were much simpler. This city was _infested_ with human children and they all looked so very much alike that it was nearly impossible to find what he was looking for. If it weren't for the size difference between them and… _adults_ he would have considered it utterly unfeasible.

_This should be a likely place for the ones from last cycle to be,_ he thought. _After all, this isn't that far away from where I bio-emerged, and they arrived here rather quickly…_

No sooner did he think this did a brown-haired boy wearing a blue hoodie come raising into the playground, dashing over to what appeared to be a dinosaur hut and disappearing under it…briefly. Makuramon's eyes widened, having caught a flash of yellow sitting atop the boy's head, and he ran on over, kneeling down to the entrance and gazing in with his wide, large eyes.

"Aw man, they're not here," he heard the boy groan from within and within short order he dropped down right in front of Makuramon. The boy blinked, as if taken aback at suddenly finding Makuramon there in front of him before extending a hesitant hand.

"Um… Hi? Can I…help you?"

Makuramon sat there for a moment longer, memorizing the boy's face, his expression empty and motionless until, finally, his mouth parted open, wide and gaping.

_"Makaaa!"_ he shouted, startling the goggle-wearing boy and causing him to jerk back in fright. Makuramon wasted no time turning right around and running off, laughing manically.

**###**

Takato sat there, completely and utterly baffled and stunned at this strange encounter with an equally bizarre kid. Or…at least he _thought_ he was a kid. The absence of a nose and such flat features looked so alien that Takato had to take a second to wonder if the kid was actually a kid at all and not some digimon in disguise.

_Well… Can't judge a book by its cover,_ he thought, remembering his first impressions of Guilmon, Rika and Renamon when he first met them. They could be scary after all and…

His mind paused on that, thinking of last night and his expression fell. Adjusting the strap on his bag, he ducked out from beneath the dinosaur hut and looked over his shoulder for the strange 'kid,' but finding no sign of him, he hurried off toward the school.

For Ms. Kamiya's sake, he didn't want to be late on his first day back to class.

**###**

Makuramon watched Takato go until he disappeared around the corner. Creeping back out into the playground, he made his way over to the dinosaur hut and hauled himself up inside. He doubted that he would find anything, but curiosity tickled at him. Settling himself down, he found a single, solitary box. Curious, he lifted the lid off and frowned upon seeing the pile of cards that it contained he gave an animalistic growl of anger.

Every card was embossed with the image of a digimon. His mouth twitched. He had heard of such devices in the past, but never seen them before. A game where a human 'tamed' digimon and sent them into battle…

_They…They would make us_ slaves _in a children's_ game?! _They would use our images… Our_ lives _for_ their _enjoyment?!_

Letting out an enraged _Maka_ , Makuramon grabbed the box of cards and hurled it over the side, sending them spilling out to the ground. That wasn't enough for the monkey Deva however. Jumping over the side, he proceeded to stomp on the cards, snatching some of them up and ripping them apart with his bare hands, or tearing them between his teeth. Not all of them met this fate, as Makuramon's rage began to quickly subside with each card torn and crushed, and within short order he stood there, panting heavily.

_This is unbecoming, Makaaa…_ he thought. Taking a deep breath, he dusted himself off and stepped out from beneath the hut, taking a moment to grind the pile of cards into the dirt some more as he did so, he darted in the direction that he saw the goggle-wearing boy head off in.

Information was knowledge, and he needed to know everything he could about this _Hazard_ Tamer.

**###**

Kari was not feeling well.

Getting up early did not sit well with the Digidestined of Light anymore. The facts more than spoke for her when she said on multiple occasions that whoever invented morning deserved to write an essay on how it was a horrible thing until their hands fell off. Her body sagged and struggled to move, aching for rest. This was not even the worst of it either as a pounding headache throbbed and pulsed behind her temples, something which was _not_ relieved by the pain killers that she took for both it _and_ her period, which decided today of all days to start roaring forth, red in tooth and claw, as though it were just _waiting_ for the perfect storm of bodily discomfort to join in with. All on the day that she was assigned to stand at the gate and check students for things that were _not_ school-related.

Kari was not feeling well.

She felt Gatomon's tail brush against her leg, and she smiled a little, only for it to drop when she opened her eyes and found one of her students student – Kenta Kitagawa – passing by, a bulge hiding beneath his shirt.

"Eh… 'M-'Morning, Ms. Kamiya," the boy said, sweating nervously. Kari sighed.

"Oh, it's you, Kenta. All right, what are you hiding under your shirt today? You haven't brought anything strange, have you?"

Kenta's hand drifted to his shirt where the bulge lay and he took a nervous step back.

"S-Strange?"

"Things like toys and cards," she sighed. "Don't bring any of that to school, okay?" She sighed heavily, rubbing at her forehead. "I haven't had my first cup of coffee yet," she mumbled.

"I-It's not a toy," Kenta stammered out. "It's…ah…It's my lunchbox! It's just…really…small because I'm…on a diet?"

Gatomon eyed the bespectacled boy with an expression that spoke of how awful that lie was, causing him to blanch noticeably.

"Don't worry," he promised, trying to step around the pair. "I won't cause any trouble. Not me."

Kari sighed and closed her eyes. She _really_ wasn't in the mood for this.

_Ugh. I don't want to keep getting angry over every little thing… I'll let this pass._

"All right. Hurry up and get to class before the bell rings."

Offering a quick, but polite bow, Kenta took off like a shot, and Kari groaned as her body throbbed painfully. The painkillers were _still_ _not_ working yet for some reason. It seemed that the world wanted her to suffer.

_Shouldn't have had that extra glass of wine last night,_ she thought miserably. _Better yet, shouldn't have had that whole half bottle. That's probably what most of it is…_

Opening her eyes, she saw Kazu hurried by her, glancing first over his shoulder and then at Gatomon nervously before picking up the pace.

"He's sure in a hurry," Gatomon noted, looking in the direction the boy was looking in, seeing Takato jogging toward the school, already peeling off his goggles and stuffing them into his bag. The feline digimon frowned slightly at that, wondering why Kazu didn't wait for his friend.

"I'll bet he's up to something," Kari grumbled. "I don't know what I'm going to do about disciplining him. I've said this before, boys who break the rules grow up to be thugs and zookeepers."

"What's wrong with being a zookeeper?" Takato asked, raising an eyebrow as he drew up next to them. Her eyes still closed, Kari pressed her knuckles harder against her forehead, as though she could drive the pulsing headache out of her skull.

"'Morning Takato," she greeted with a grunt. "And please don't be silly. Not today. For one thing, you don't get any respect. You have to work all day with animals who _never_ do what you tell them to _do!"_

Takato furrowed his brow at this before looking back up at her before a small smile touched his features.

"Gee," the boy began, a humorous, companionable tone in his voice, "that kind of sounds like what you do now."

_"What?!"_

Kari's eyes shot open at this and looked down at the boy in bewilderment while down below, a small smirk played across Gatomon's face.

"He _does_ have a point," the feline said as Takato now looked a bit uncertain by this response, feeling that he overstepped a line.

"Um… I was trying to make a joke…" he began apologetically. "I…guess it fell a little flat, huh?"

Kari groaned and closed her eyes again.

"Well, at least animals don't make wisecracks," she grumbled.

"She's having a bit of a bad start," Gatomon explained, stepping around her partner. "Don't mind her. She just needs some catnip. How are you doing? Did you have a good summer vacation?"

"Well… It was certainly…an experience," he said. "Ah… How much did Ken tell you? Wait, _did_ he tell you anything?"

"We heard that you met my brother," Kari replied, massaging her temples, again wishing she hadn't downed so much wine last night. Gatomon looked up at her worriedly. Since receiving the news about her brother's appearance during the V-Pet crisis, Kari had taken to drinking a bit while venting openly about Tai, his disappearance and what she was going to say to their parents that, ultimately, she never got around to telling. It worried her greatly, as if an old wound had been ripped wide open. Opening her eyes, she looked at Takato, her expression softening. For an instant, Takato felt his heart reach out to her, as he could see the ghost of the girl she had been years ago, when the war ended.

"How…is he?" she asked, her voice hesitant.

"He seems to be doing good," Takato replied, shifting uncertainly. "He asked about you and how you were doing."

"Did he now?" Kari closed her eyes again, feeling the hot taste of bitterness dripping in her voice. She hated it. She hated feeling that way. She loved her brother so much when she was younger – still did as a matter of fact – and he did so much for her, but it was hard to not feel angry about his leaving when she needed him the most.

"Yeah, he seemed kind of worried about you."

Kari scowled, dropping her arm as another student approached, this one carrying a large stuffed toy. Stopping him, Kari gave him a quick dressing down and told him to turn his toy in at the office before reporting to his class. The child, who was younger than Takato, looked quite broken up by this, and dragged their feet as they headed off. Kari watched them go, a sad look on her face.

"I think…I might have made a mistake," she said under her breath, earning her a confused look from Takato and Gatomon.

"Mistake?" Takato asked. "About what?"

"Becoming a teacher," Kari replied. At this point in her pain-addled state, she didn't care _who_ she vented to.

"Why did you decide to become a teacher, Ms. Kamiya?" Takato asked, honestly curious.

Kari was silent for a moment before responding.

"At first…I wanted to teach children. I thought, maybe that if I could teach children, the world might become a better place, and I liked the idea of teaching anyway. Then…it became more of a promise that I had to keep. Something for me to focus on…"

_Something I could focus on to cope with my brother vanishing…_ she thought, sighing heavily.

"Became a promise?" Takato asked. Kari nodded.

"To children I knew when I was more active as a Digidestined. Before the war. You might remember them from the lessons by the name of the 'Dark Spore Children.' They all needed someone to show them that their dreams were possible."

Her expression fell, remembering one of them who didn't make it. A girl named Keiko Kurata, who died when the Dark Spore in her flowered again and consumed her, leaving a distraught daughter behind to be raised alone by her father. She could still remember the girl as she watched her mother being lowered into the ground, and how that had strengthened her resolve to continue teaching. To be that light in the darkness for children.

"Now I'm not so sure if I can do that," she finished. Gatomon's tail flicked through the air, wanting to berate her partner for entertaining such thoughts, but this was a struggle Kari was used to, and it was something she was going to have to work out on her own.

_Whatever happens, I'll stand by her,_ she thought, her tail coming up and caressing her partner's leg.

Takato looked at his teacher thoughtfully, adjusting his bag on his shoulder before his expression became firm.

"You know… There were times where I used to think that being a teacher didn't agree with you…"

Kari's head snapped up at that, but Takato pressed on, lost in his thoughts and feelings for the moment.

"…but I've come to realize that _I_ was the one who made that mistake. I think you're a good teacher, Ms. Kamiya. I really do."

A light gust of wind played at the corners of Kari's hair, and her expression soured. Seeing this, Takato, suddenly feeling uncomfortable, yanked his gaze away and shifted uneasily.

"S-Sorry," he muttered. "I'm not good at saying things. I guess…" He thought back to Minami during his adventure at Okinawa and how sad she had been over Mei's death. "I don't know. I just thought that you deserved to know that. Please don't give up, Ms. Kamiya."

Kari gazed at her student for a moment longer before sighing.

"Hurry on to class, Takato," she said quietly. "I'll see you there shortly."

Taking his cue, Takato bowed politely to her and hurried off, leaving Kari alone with her partner.

"What was that about?" Gatomon asked, planting her paws on her hips.

Before Kari could reply, the familiar, smiling face of Mori appeared in front of her, standing tall like a pillar. An exclamation point of the kind of beaming attentiveness that only annoyed Kari.

"'Morning, Ms. Kamiya!" he greeted cheerfully with a laugh. "And what a lovely morning it is! Good to see you're keeping the students in line! Checking students' personal belongings is a tough job, isn't it?"

Making a disgusted sound, Kari turned away and started toward the school. "Put a sock in it, Mori," she growled, in no mood for his antics.

Gatomon laughed inwardly as she scampered after her partner while Mr. Mori could only stare after her, his shoulders sagging as he became crestfallen at being rejected – again – so quickly.

**###**

Kenta was tapping at the buttons on his toy digivice as he stood next to Kazu and Yuji, feeding his pet 'digimon.' As of last night, he had _finally_ gotten it to evolve to Mega, a _MarineAngemon,_ and eager to share his triumph, he brought it to school to show off. Yuji at least had been interested, at first, but the atmosphere from Kazu quickly dragged things down, the taller boy giving him a look that was at once dismissive and disgusted for even bringing a toy involving digimon into school. A toy that let him _pretend_ to be a Tamer…

_A Tamer…_ he thought, thinking of Takato, and Kenta pressed his lips together tightly. _Takato would appreciate this…_

Movement caught his attention and looking up, he saw Takato entering the room. Feeling suddenly self-conscious, he snapped his arm holding the toy digivice behind his back, blushing lightly in embarrassment. Seeing the other boy, Kazu's face became anxious from where he sat on the desk across from Yuji, and Kenta could see his arms tighten in tension. Takato's face took on an awkward expression and he tilted his head to one side.

"Hey there," he greeted, tension bleeding into his voice, something that was shared by his two friends.

"Oh… Uh, yeah. Hey yourself," Kazu greeted. They stared at each other for a moment longer before Takato, finally breaking his eyes away from them and hurried on over to his desk. Kenta watched him go, pressing his lips together.

_Do we…have to be like this?_ he wondered as Kari arrived in the class, calling everyone to go to their seats. No answer came to him, and he doubted Kazu wanted one.

_Oh man… What are we going to do?_ he thought, missing Jeri's thoughtful frown on the boys as they took their places.

**###**

Kari came to a stop at the front of the room, her gaze going from student to student, pausing on some in particular. Takato… And Jeri.

_"You know… There were times where I used to think that being a teacher didn't agree with you…but I've come to realize that I was the one who made that mistake. I think you're a good teacher, Ms. Kamiya. I really do."_

The roll call went as it always did, but doubts gnawed at her, as did her various aches and pains. Her painkillers were finally starting to kick in, but it just didn't feel like it was enough.

Taking up a green chalk, Kari turned around and began to draw on the board. She continued like this for a bit longer, switching between colors and repeating the process until she had a number of assorted vegetables made out for her class. Jotting down a few notes, she turned back toward her students and took a deep breath.

"Shirakabaha was a literary movement of the Taisho era, with Saneatsu Mushanokoji as its theoretic leader," she began. "His talents laid not only in writing, but drawing as well. He is perhaps best known for his realistic drawings of the pumpkin and eggplant that are always found alongside the phrase, "Being good friends is beautiful.""

Kari turned around and faced her students.

"Now everyone" she began, "read these words after me. Here we go. Being good friends is beautiful."

The whole class repeated her words in a loud chorus, though she couldn't help but notice the troubled looks belonging to Takato, Kazu, Kenta and Jeri.


	89. Episode 13: Beneath Masks

Izzy's hand traced along Mimi's steadily growing belly as he kissed her cheek, and the woman giggled and snuggled up against him, kissing him back.

"Have I mentioned how glad I am to see you again?" Izzy asked. Lacing her hands behind his head, she pushed up against him, pressing their foreheads together.

"I stopped counting after the hundredth time," she beamed, running her hands through his strawberry colored hair. "But that's okay." Leaning toward him, she planted a kiss on Izzy's nose, and they both blushed brightly. Gazing into his eyes, Mimi traced her hand back from his hair and along his cheek before her finger landed upon Izzy's lip.

"I'm glad to see you again too," she finished.

Taking hold of her hand, Izzy kissed her finger. He had been released from Takeru's custody sometime after Matt, and he went straightaway to Odaiba to be with Mimi. Oh, how he missed her, and she him. Mimi had practically _pounced_ on him upon his arrival home and hadn't let go of him since.

_Not that I mind,_ he thought, as she playfully tapped his lips with her finger before wiggling it inside playfully, causing the man to blush profusely.

"M-Mimi…" he began as she withdrew her finger from his mouth, only for the woman to grin mischievously.

"You always get a little bit embarrassed whenever I feed you," she said, giving a light, husky laugh, causing Izzy's blush to deepen even further. "But I'm afraid I can't be on the menu right now, seeing as how you're…" Her eyes flicked downward meaningfully before rising back up again. "…tired."

Izzy's blush was now making him blend in with his hair he was turning so beat red. Time and time again since their relationship began, he learned just how fitting her crest was when it came to her. She never held anything back, _especially_ when they were intimate with one another.

"I…I can try… I mean…" he began, stammering out, but Mimi's finger planted itself upon his lips once again, and she shook her head, smiling coyly at her computer nerd.

"No forcing yourself," she said with playful sternness. "We've had our fun, and now it's time to take it easy. Besides, I'm sure you're _actually_ hungry, and we can't have fun or work on an empty stomach, right?"

Izzy chuckled and kissed her finger again before leaning in to capture her lips.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" he asked in a soft whisper, pulling back.

Mimi kissed his forehead and sat up, dropping the covers to their bed before climbing off.

"You mean besides looking cute and filling me in on the rest of your adventures?" she asked, making her way over to the closet and withdrawing a bathrobe. Slipping it on, she tied it off. "I didn't exactly give you a chance to finish after all."

Izzy slipped off the bed and grabbed his pants from where Mimi had unceremoniously thrown it on the floor.

"Right," he said, half-tugging, half-hopping as he struggled to pull them on. "Where was I?"

"You were saying something about Takeru wanting to hire you for a job…?" she asked tapping her chin thoughtfully as she went over to the bedroom door and pulled it open. She pressed her lips together at the thought of her Izzy working with Takeru again. The former Digidestined of Hope was decidedly not her favorite person right now, even if she missed his presence in their lives. In many ways, how he came out of the war had been far worse than Tai disappearing into the digital world, as they had to watch his steady descent into what he became.

"Yes," Izzy nodded, frowning slightly as he buckled himself up and grabbed his shirt. "Apparently, he has some kind of project for protecting our world from more incursions from dark digimon, but…"

"But…?" Mimi asked as they exited the bedroom together, causing Palmon to look up from her meal.

"You two are a little late getting up?" she grinned, to which the two Digidestined blushed.

"Palmon, when two people miss each other as much as we have, being late is understandable," Mimi laughed as Izzy hurriedly tugged on his shirt and began to button it up. Approaching the couch, the Digidestined of Sincerity proceeded to take up a tie draped over the back. Spinning around, she looped it around her lover's neck and began to tie it on, kissing him as she pulled him close.

"You two…" Palmon laughed. "Mimi… Don't get too wrapped up with kissing him that you're late to work. Doesn't your recording for your new season of _Cooking with Sincerity_ start today?"

Parting from Izzy, Mimi glanced back at her partner. "I can afford to be a little bit late today," she chuckled. _"Nothing_ is going to get between me and my nerd today, even if Takeru shows up with the whole JSDF behind him."

"Let's not go _that_ far," Izzy replied, finishing buttoning up his shirt. "Anyway, it might be a good idea for you to take it easy." His hands moved down to cup Mimi's belly, where the small swelling of her pregnancy lay. Reaching up, Mimi laughed and flicked his forehead.

"I'm _plenty_ fine for a while, so neither of you have to worry about me. Now sit down and tell me all about what Takeru wants from you while I make some breakfast."

As she padded over to the fridge, she glanced at him out of the corner of her eye.

"But…what _are_ you going to do? Is it safe to work with him?"

"I don't know," Izzy admitted, stopping at the chair in front of Palmon, one hand falling to rest on it. "He's changed a great deal. He's very focused. And you know how he is because of his experiences with the forces of Darkness."

"Yeah," Mimi said, taking out a bowl and a carton of eggs and setting them on the counter, her expression softening as she thought of Patamon. "I'm sure if it happened to any one of us, we would become like that. Like Maki…"

"I don't know if we can say Takeru and Maki are the same," Izzy pointed out as she flipped on the stove and placed a frying pan on the burner. "He hasn't yet shown any indication that he wants to reset the digital world to get Patamon back."

"As if Yggdrasil cares enough to help with that," Mimi scowled, taking out an egg and cracking it open, dumping its contents into the large bowl. Izzy nodded in agreement. Even if Takeru had shown a desire to replicate Maki's actions from when they were teenagers. Maki – one of the very first Digidestined that preceded their group – at least had the help of the digital entity, Yggdrasil and a dark version of Gennai to provide her with all the resources she needed to bring her partner back to life. He doubted even Hypnos had that kind of technology after all this time.

"I doubt Takeru would consider it since it would mean bringing back all of our old enemies again," he added as Mimi continued to mix in ingredients to the bowl – flour, baking powder, salt, sugar – before returning to the fridge and taking out some butter. "We're not as strong as we used to be after all. Our ability to digivolve to Mega has grown weaker."

Izzy frowned at that thought, thinking back on how when they were children they needed special circumstances just to digivolve Agumon and Gabumon to Mega. Then, in their later years, with their crests restored and starting to grow into adulthood, their Mega forms became unlocked without the need for such things; their bodies having matured enough to provide such power on their own.

Now that was starting to change. Izzy was sure some of it was age related, but they were also horribly out of practice.

"It's a good thing we have those new kids then to help us," Palmon chimed in as Mimi finished adding the final ingredients. "They look like they can take care of themselves pretty well."

"They're doing all right so far," Mimi said, though worry creased her face. "But…what if they come up against something they're not ready for? I mean, they have us of course, but…"

Mimi frowned, finding herself stirring the ingredients together with considerably more force than was necessary to mix them. Taking a deep breath, she slowed her pace…and then found Izzy behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist – gently, so as to not disturb the baby growing within her – and kissed the crook of her neck.

Leaning back, she hummed her approval, thinking back on how warm and loving he became as a man, having grown quite well from the distant, calculating boy she had been thrown into an alternate plane of existence with.

"Um…Izzy, sweetie?" she began after a moment. "I still need to finish making breakfast."

Smiling, Izzy kissed Mimi's cheek and rubbed her belly before stepping back. Feeling a little bit lighter now in her heart, Mimi resumed her work, humming a soft tune before they resumed their discussion.

After a short while, Mimi came to the table bearing three plates for their little family, each bearing pancakes shaped into hearts.

"Eat up everyone," she beamed. "There'll be no saving the world on empty stomachs while I'm around."

"Oh Mimi…" laughed Palmon.

**###**

Izzy made his way down the streets of Odaiba, his stomach and heart both satiated, but his thoughts distant. Thoughts of Takeru and what he wanted from him mingled with worries about Mimi and their child growing within her. Sensing his concerns through the wireless earpiece Izzy wore, Tentomon's voice spoke up.

_"You don't have to take the job offer you know."_

"I know, Tentomon," Izzy replied, starting down a stairwell that would take him to the subway and, inevitably, to Shinjuku and Hypnos. "But…I am concerned. Concerned and curious. Takeru has been in contact with Gennai. We weren't able to do that when we were in the digital world. This is…most unusual."

_"Do you think it's anything like before? Or worse?"_

"I don't know if this is anything like the situation with Meikomon and the reboot," Izzy replied, shaking his head. "If Takeru was doing something that he knew we would disagree with, I don't see why he would even invite me to help him with this project. Still… I want you to be on your guard."

_"That's_ if _I'm allowed access,"_ Tentomon pointed out. _"Hypnos is a government agency after all, and has a great deal of sensitive, classified technology. I don't think they'll let just_ any _mon in, even if they're with you."_

Izzy nodded in agreement.

"Still, we'll find a way. It's all about finding it. If Takeru's project poses a potential risk to the relationship between the real and digital worlds, we need to be ready for it."

_"Do you really think that his project might be dangerous? Gennai's been in contact with him. I don't think he'd be contacting him if he thought that he was dangerous."_

"It won't hurt to be prudent…"

_"Technically it will if we're caught breaking into their systems."_

Izzy tightened his fists together as he paid for a ticket to the subway train and stepped back.

"We'll just have to be extra careful then, for everyone's sake. Are you up for it?"

_"As long as you are,"_ Tentomon replied. _"With a body or no body, I'm with you always."_

Izzy smiled softly. "Thanks pal."

**###**

"Now our next topic for today is vegetables," Takato heard Ms. Kamiya say as she branched off from the earlier lesson, leaving up the vegetable drawings. "To _many_ of you, vegetables are like homework assignments…"

Takato, for his part, barely heard any of this, and soon glanced down at his notebook, where he had sketched out drawings of Guilmon's evolution forms, from his Rookie, to Champion, to Ultimate and finally to Mega. This final, yet unseen form was larger than the previous form of WarGrowlmon – a form he hadn't envisioned in his drawings – with a brutal, angry-looking, snarling face and a row of spikes running the length of his back. He drew inspiration so far almost entirely from the kaiju, _Gojira,_ back in the day when such things were still shown regularly on TV and not from outdated tapes or whatever surfaced online. Gojira's characterization changed from era to era, but the one he liked the most – the one that reminded him the most of Guilmon – was the Showa era, where the monster was a hero. However, as he gazed at the rather angry looking level, he began to have second thoughts, given what he remembered of Gojira's origins and his portrayal in previous and subsequent eras.

_I've always wanted Guilmon to become stronger and digivolve just like the Digidestined, but…_ His mind trailed off, thinking of his encounter with Takeru from last night. _That man's right, this isn't a game. Guilmon's totally different when he digivolves. What if he ends up like the bad digimon we fight against and stops being my friend? I don't want him to become a monster._

Feeling discouraged, he took his pen and began to scribble out the new drawing. He was going to have to face the facts. _Showa Guilmon_ just wasn't going to happen. That hazard sign was proof of that. He was sure that it was partly responsible for Guilmon's wild nature.

_Just where had it come from?_ he wondered for the umpteenth time before a hand suddenly reached into his field of vision and deposited a folded piece of paper right in front of him. Blinking in surprise, he looked up, following the hand back to the dark-haired girl sitting next to him, giggling alongside another girl with short, light hair and suspenders, who was looking at Jeri…who was smiling right at him.

Curious, he unfolded the piece of paper and smiled, seeing that Jeri had drawn a cute picture of Guilmon wearing blue shorts and a white T-shirt with a yellow smiley face on it.

_At least Jeri doesn't think he's a monster,_ he thought, looking back up at the girl as she mimed a dog opening and closing its mouth with her hand. _Although she would scream like a banshee if she saw Growlmon._

His smile slipping, he looked back down at his own scribbled out drawing.

_I hope Guilmon never changes…_

A part of him wondered if that would be the case, or perhaps he was falsely hoping for a future that would never come.

Folding up Jeri's drawing, he slipped it into his notebook for safekeeping and began to sketch out a new drawing. This time, not of Guilmon or any of his evolved forms. Thoughts of Gojira's Showa-era heroism running through his mind along with a desire for an image of _some_ measure of goodness and strength to dash away the shadows of his heart, he began to draw a knight. A knight with shining white armor and a red cape blowing in the wind.

After some time of this, he ended up scribbling out the knight as well before sighing despondently and turning his attention back to the lesson. Still, try as he might to pay attention, he found the task to be quite difficult, as his mind kept turning back to his doubts and last night's incident.

_Am I just fooling myself?_ he wondered. _Maybe Rika's right and I really am just a Gogglehead. Maybe all I've done is fill my head up with a bunch of dreams that won't come true. Sure, we defeated Mephistomon and helped save the world but…_

He thought of the DarkLizardmon and how it came at him, demanding evolution from him.

_Am I going about this the right way? What if I turn Guilmon into a monster like the Gojira from the very first movie?_

He shuddered at the thought, wondering if Rika had felt this way after her battle with IceDevimon. He wondered if he should talk to her about it.

_Awww…nuts,_ he thought in despair, his worries temporarily broken up as his pen ran out of ink at long last, having exhausted itself on his large mess of scribblings.

**###**

Takato approached Ms. Kamiya after class ended, a look of sympathy crossing his face as he found her leaning over her desk, massaging her temples. Whatever it was that caused her pain from this morning, it obviously hadn't cleared up.

"Can't believe that I have toattend a meeting after class…" he heard her grumbling under her breath as she dug around in her purse, looking for something. "It's just going to be about how _important_ it is to make sure students don't bring in things that don't belong in school… As if we don't already know that… Don't they know we have papers to grade? Ohhh… Where _is_ that aspirin?"

_Maybe this is a bad time,_ Takato thought, coming to a stop in front of her desk. However, before he could change his mind and keep moving, Kari spied him out of the corner of her eye and looked up, and he saw her compose her face, forcing it to become more pleasant in spite of the exasperated look that glinted in her eyes.

"Yes, Takato. What can I help you with?"

Takato barely withheld a flinch at the tone in Kari's voice, recognizing it as belonging to someone who didn't want to deal with something but would do it anyway.

"Oh, it's nothing," Takato replied, adjusting his bag. "I was just worried about you. You looked like you haven't been feeling well at all today."

"I'll be fine," Kari smiled softly. "I just…made some mistakes last night, and I'm paying for it."

_Drank too much,_ she thought mentally in a scolding tone. Raising her hand to her forehead, she pressed her fingers against her temples and leaned forward again.

Lifting her eyes back up to him, she smiled. "You're a good kid, Takato, but you should get going. Unless, you have something else you need…?"

"No," Takato shook his head. "No, I'm good."

With that, he bowed politely to the Digidestined of Light and ducked out

**###**

_Who am I kidding?_ he thought as he exited the school grounds and made his way over toward the direction of the playground where he stashed his things. _I shouldn't be bothering the Digidestined about every problem I run into. They have lives of their own and besides, they were dealing with this stuff on their own too! I mean, they survived in the digital world on their own after all. If I'm to be a Tamer, then I should work things out on my own sometimes. I mean, I got Guilmon to Okinawa on my own and went off to save Minami…_

He felt a little bit better, remembering his adventure with his cousin. The three of them had managed fairly well for the most part, so it wasn't as if he were a complete screw up. Still… The visage of DarkLizardmon haunted him.

_Every digimon we've been encountering lately has been like that, and I've been feeding the same ideas into Guilmon's head. Maybe that's why he gets so wild when he digivolves?_

Around and around the thoughts went through his mind until he arrived at the playground. The sound of swing sets creaking caught his attention, and he found Kenta sitting in one of them while Kazu stood next to him, the two of them chatting. Feeling apprehensive but realizing that he had been putting this off for too long, he forced on a pleasant smile of his own and approached them.

"Uh…Hey guys!" he called out, and at once the two boys turned toward him, and upon seeing him their expressions suddenly became distant and withdrawn.

"Hey," said Kenta anxiously while Kazu's response was flat and passive, containing, however, a hint of aggression.

"Hi."

_Yikes,_ Takato thought, feeling his confidence wavering. At once he was reminded of Ms. Kamiya's false expression when she saw him, and he began to wonder if this was a good idea too.

"So…" he began hesitantly. "What's up?"

_"Rrruff! Ruff! Ruff!"_ broke the sound of Jeri from behind them. All three boys turned to find the girl walking toward them with her sock puppet barking and a wide smile beaming on her face.

"What're you boys doing today? Playing digimon?" Jeri's amber eyes sparkled at the notion, for once feeling rather interested in seeing the game played out. It took some effort, but she managed to break away from Ayaka and Miki to go see what they were doing rather than study at Ayaka's home, making up a story that she had to go pick something up for her family.

Kenta tensed up, not making eye contact with Takato.

"No way, digimon's for kids," he said, feeling the lie of his toy digivice pressing against his leg.

"Yeah, who cares if we don't?" Kazu snorted. "Kenta's right and so were you Jeri. Digimon _is_ a game for kids."

Takato pressed his lips together at this. "Um… But…" he began, only for Kazu to interrupt him.

"Oh, don't start," the taller boy shot at him, his brown eyes zeroing in on him. "Listen dude. You're not scaring anyone with that oversized stuffed dinosaur of yours, okay?"

At that, Takato glanced away, feeling as though his heart had just been stomped on by cleats. All these years of friendship with Kazu and Kenta – all that time of enjoying digimon and talking about what the adventures they'd have if they became Tamers – all of it, thrown out the window just like that.

"Uh…yeah," Kenta agreed hesitantly, while Jeri blinked in confusion at this unexpected turn of events.

"But…Guilmon's not a toy," she began, hoping to defend Takato and make the other two boys see the error of their ways.

"Whatever," Kenta said, tightening his grip on the swing as Kazu looked away from Jeri, shame clouding his eyes. "We're just not into playing digimon anymore. It's _lame!"_

Kenta saw the hurt look in Takato's eyes and felt as though he were twisting a knife in both their hearts. The presence of the toy digivice in his pocket felt that more obvious.

His heart hurting and his thoughts feeling clouded by the pain of hearing these words from the mouths of people he thought he called friends, Takato spoke again, his words heavy and thick.

"You don't have to dump on it," he said quietly. "If you don't like it then don't play."

Jeri looked back and forth between the boys, wondering just how things had become like this. She remembered that the boys had some kind of disagreement about Guilmon being real, but why was it _this_ bad?

_They saw Guilmon…didn't they? He's real…_

"I don't think I understand," she said in confusion before looking down at her sock puppet. Making it _bark,_ Jeri turned around so she could have it address her more properly.

_"Boys are silly!"_ the sock puppet _woofed._ "Sometimes they fight even when there's nothing to fight about. It's all just pretend…right?"

In spite of the uncertainty that crept into the sock puppet's voice, Jeri smiled.

"Yeah. That's right!"

Scowling and wanting to get out of this conversation as quickly as possible, Kazu nudged his friend.

"Kenta… Let's go hang at my place and play video games."

Unable to take the hurt look on Takato's face as Jeri's sock puppet expressed a heartfelt, mournful cry, the boy hopped off the swing.

"Yeah. Let's leave Takato and his _kiddy game,"_ he said, twisting that knife a little bit further for effect, all the while hating himself for doing so.

_Why…Why am I being so mean?_ he wondered, all too aware of the pressure of his toy digivice sitting in his pants pocket. He itched to pull it out and check on his 'partner,' but he couldn't do that. Not until Takato was far, _far_ away and unable to see.

Takato stood there, his expression blank while his heart sat heavy with utter desolation. His friendship with Kazu and Kenta, forged long ago through a mutual, shared interest in digimon, now stood in ruins, and all because he shot his mouth off. They even used his own words about the card game being a little kid's game compared to real-life Taming against him.

_It's…all my fault,_ he thought as Jeri looked on at him, a sorrowful look on her face. "I'm sorry," she began. "I must have said something wrong."

Takato shook his head numbly in response. "It's not you," he began. "It's just…"

He trailed off and lowered his head, trying to work through his feelings and where to go from here.

_What can I do? What should I do? Did…Did this happen to any of the Digidestined? How do I fix this?_

Lowering her sock puppet, Jeri felt her own heart crack in sympathy for him. She had just seen their friendship fall apart and she could see how badly it hurt him. Her heart went out to him, wanting to cheer him up, or at least say something that would take the sting out of it a little.

On sudden inspiration, Jeri's sock puppet rose up and _barked._ She knew what would help make everything better again.

_"Hey! Are you going to play with Guilmon today?"_

At this, Takato felt something in him snap and he whirled his head about on the brown-haired girl, eyes flashing angrily. Play… That was the _last_ thing he wanted to hear now, as if all he was doing was playing a game!

"Jeri, I'm not just _playing!"_ he shouted, only to balk at seeing a hurt and surprised look flash across her face, taken aback by his sudden loss of his temper. Balking, hating himself for having lashed out at her undeservedly, he looked away, fumbling for an apology, only to falter, feeling that nothing he could say would change things.

"I…I've got to go," he mumbled before taking off at a run, leaving Jeri alone with the sock puppet by her side. Watching him go with an aching heart, she covered the sock puppet with her hand.

_I'm sorry,_ she thought, looking away as the boy disappeared out of her sight. Her heart twisted itself into knots as she thought of a million apologies, feeling that she should have done better… Should have understood how he felt better. After all, her _mother_ had been a Digidestined once. Jeri didn't remember her very well, Keiko having died when she had been very young and her father almost never talked about her anymore either. All the same, it was certainly something that no doubt weighted heavily on Takato, as it must have with her mother. In her memories and her photos…didn't Keiko always have a tired smile on her face? As though she were struggling to hold up the world?

Jeri squeezed her sock puppet and began to start away from the playground when something caught her eye. Turning in the direction of the dinosaur hut where Takato, Kazu and Kenta often played, she saw what looked like a box and a pile of cards just lying on the dirt ground. Curious, she approached it and saw that the box was Takato's, recognizing it from all the times she saw him carrying it.

_He must have forgotten to get it,_ she thought, hurrying over. _But…why's it just lying there like this?_ Kneeling down, she began to pick up the cards, frowning as she noted that a number of the cards were destroyed and otherwise damaged. Her heart broke at the sight. It looked like someone attacked them.

_Kazu and Kenta?_

Her eyes flashed angrily and with sudden force, she began to sweep the cards up and into the box. Once she was finished, she placed the lid atop the box and stood up, one hand caressing it gently, as if she were telling the box and the cards it contained that everything was going to be all right. She would help make the pain bearable.

"Takato…" she whispered. Hugging the box close to her, she started off toward home.


	90. Episode 13: Depths and Heights

The images flashed across the screen in the darkened room. First, a massive, violet-scaled dragon bursting forth from the streets of Shibuya, only to suddenly dragged back downward. The image shifted to a bird's eye view, portraying the dragon – holding a giant, dark orb – as it struggled and whipped about violently. Some distance behind it, holding the beast by its tail, was a humanoid figure, clad in red armor with a golden arc with star-like points along it.

Another image, this one showing the most recent incident with the V-Pet crisis. Digimon popping up all over the world as the app-turned-virus ate up the world's data. An attack from the Nightmare Soldiers; that last remnant of the forces of Darkness that weren't trapped within the world of the Dark Ocean.

Takeru flicked his lighter closed and tapped a button on his computer's keyboard. In response, the image on the screen shifted again, taking on four individuals, separated into their own individual screens; three men and one women, all save one – an older man playing golf – wearing suits. One of them, in the bottom right corner of the screen, Takeru recognized well as the Chief Cabinet Secretary.

_"These are the worst incursions into our world by the digital world since the War,"_ spoke up the woman as she got up from her desk and walked around it. A stern look was on her face. She was plainly _not_ happy with the situation. This was hardly surprising. Takeru knew her almost as well as he did the Chief Cabinet Secretary. Himiko Hata did not like a great many things regarding the digital world and the creatures that lived within it. _"Worse yet,_ more _children have been drafted by the digital world. If I am to understand the reports correctly, there were six officially documented as frontline combatants in the Celestial Kingdom…"_

"Ten," Takeru confirmed. "There were four others according to the six that we found at the hospital. Though it seems that they left the digital world some time before they did due to circumstances."

Flicking his lighter open, he kept his expression neutral. There was no reason to let anyone know that those remaining four had actually been on the _opposing_ side of that conflict, working with Cherubimon and the Dark powers that corrupted him. Though temporary, such a repeat of Ken's mistakes without the excuse of a Dark Spore corrupting them would not have gone over well.

Still, leaving out those four was not something he could do.

" _Six or ten, neither number is acceptable,"_ Himiko scowled. _"Takaishi. You said that you had_ solutions _regarding these incidents."_

The man in the upper left corner, sitting in a limousine while reading over documents in a folder, glanced up at the camera livestreaming him to Takeru's office.

_"Yes…solutions. I must say, Takaishi, I'm_ very _disappointed. We've spent_ millions _on Hypnos and what do you give us? One digimon floating in a tank in your lab. If that's all we needed I'd have hired a dog-catcher."_

Himiko scowled at her fellow companion for his statement before returning her attention to Takeru. _"It's a blessing that all media reports on the digimon bio-emerging prior to these two incidents have been censored and suppressed by the government, otherwise things would be considerably_ worse. _But he's right. Catching them after they've bio-emerged isn't good enough anymore. Not with these recent incidents. Can't you keep them from appearing altogether? If the media finds out about how long this has been going on and that the last two incidents weren't just isolated incidents, think of the panic it will cause."_

"Yes Ms. Hata," Takeru replied coolly. "But Hypnos is the only reason that there haven't been any media leaks in the first place."

_"Enough talk,"_ grated the Chief Cabinet Secretary. _"Let's just let the army handle it so I can get on with my lunch!"_

Lowering his gulf club, the man in the bottom left corner sauntered over to the screen.

_"Will the army be enough to handle things?"_ he asked. _"I…ah…lost my briefing, so I'm a little lost, but I seem to remember that the army had trouble handling digimon in the past. Who created digimon? Shouldn't they be helping in the first place?"_

_"They were brought in during the war,"_ Himiko explained with a heavy sigh. _"However, there are…complications as many of them are foreign nationals and their respective countries are hesitant about other countries getting a hold of them"_

Takeru nodded, remembering the fear that countries such as the United States, Russia and China had with regards to the potential weaponizing of Artificial Intelligence programs. The fact that the United States and Japan currently had the monopoly on those fields of research – and _one_ of the creators was even Chinese who now lived in Japan – did not sit well in the minds of many countries. The Digital Cold War that developed as a result nearly turned hot when one of the original creators – a man named Gorou Mizuno – was put into a coma by a car accident, causing rumors of an assassination attempt to spread like wildfire across the net.

The years since the War ended were, if nothing else, _interesting._

"I am working to assemble a team for a project to deal with the situation," Takeru said, looking from one to the other. "Ms. Hata is correct that simply capturing digimon once they've bio-emerged and sending them back is no longer feasible. The _firewall_ is no longer a working option given that digimon have proven they can breach it as though they own it." His eyes narrowing, he tightened his grip around his lighter.

"You've rejected my proposal before," he continued, "but the only solution to the problem of the powers of darkness is to completely eliminate dark digimon, in the digital world and here. I have a plan that uses the dark digimon's own data against them. It's quite elegant really, and there's no cause for hesitation. It's not as if we're destroying living, breathing creatures that could have any concern about others. After all, we've seen time and time again that, given the chance, they wouldn't hesitate if it were us. Think of the _lives_ we'd save; the chaos we could avert by striking early."

The man in the limousine eyed Takeru carefully, his brow furrowed slightly. Takeru could guess at what he was thinking. After all, there was a great deal to worry about. Digimon, no matter what group they belonged to, had indefinite life spans. A defeat in the here and now meant very little in the long run, and since digimon were designed to evolve, they could keep up with any advancements in human technology. They could afford to play the long game. They could afford to wait. The lives of humans, and indeed the lives of entire _countries,_ were like _ants_ to them.

What was the point of continuing the current policy of combatting the forces of Darkness when it was ultimately doomed to failure?

_"This proposal… What's it called?"_

"Juggernaut," Takeru replied swiftly.

_"The boundary between the digital world and ours is thin. How do we know what effect_ Juggernaut _will have on the real world?"_

_"Yeah!"_ chimed in the man with the golf club. _"How do we know you won't blow up my swimming pool?"_

"I wouldn't worry about that," Takeru replied flatly. "Juggernaut may cause some complications online, but hang ups on the net happen every day. I doubt anyone will even notice."

The Chief Cabinet Secretary leaned forward, a dark look on his face.

_"Well these might not be simple complications. You know how I feel about your previous work, Takaishi, but it's too risky! That's like our country firing a weapon at the rest of the world! It may be taking place in the digital world, but this is still a_ very _serious matter!"_

"Juggernaut's existence will _never_ be uncovered by the other countries," Takeru reassured him, however the Chief Cabinet Secretary didn't look convinced.

_"I don't know about that,"_ said the man with the golf club, wiping a cloth along his face. _"I say perform a test first. You won't need our formal consent with a cover like that, right? That way, if you get discovered anyway, we'll deny having anything to do with it."_

Takeru's hand tightened around his lighter even further, causing the knuckles to whiten from the tension.

"Good _idea,"_ said the man in the limousine. _"For once you've come up with something we can actually use. Got it Takaishi?"_

"Yeah, I got it," Takeru nodded. "We'll perform a test."

_"If that's everything,"_ said Himiko, obviously not looking happy with the course of events, _"then this meeting is adjourned."_

With that, the screens winked out one by one, leaving Takeru alone in the privacy of his office as the window shades rose up, allowing the setting sun to filter back inside. Finally, flicking his lighter open, Takeru narrowed his eyes.

"Cowards," he cursed under his breath. Turning, he looked out over the city. "If only those fools knew what we were truly up against…"

Movement caught his attention. Looking up, he saw the familiar form of Stingmon hovering over Hypnos before darting off. He watched him go for a second, before a thought occurred to him. It looked as though Stingmon had been holding something.

_A camera?_

Scowling, he took out his cell phone. Dialing a number, he lifted it to his ear and waited until the agent on the other end picked up.

"Assemble a team. You have a job to do."

**###**

Guilmon found Takato arriving at his home, a depressed look on his face. Taking hold of the gate, he unlocked it and pulled it open to allow his partner through.

"Hey Guilmon," he said quietly.

"Hey," Guilmon replied with a worried smile. Approaching the boy, he nuzzled his leg. He had been worried about him ever since his explosion from last night, and though Takato had brushed off Guilmon's questions about how he was doing, stating he was fine, it was clear that there was something on his mind. "You have a good day?"

"I saw Kazu and Kenta," Takato sighed, patting his partner's head before pulling away. Starting down the stairs, he sighed heavily. "It doesn't look like they want to be my friends anymore. I think we scared them a little too much back then."

Glancing over at Guilmon's chest, he couldn't help but wince, not for the first time wondering about _where_ the Hazard sign had come from. Guilmon noticed it as he padded alongside his partner.

"Maybe I should apologize to them and let them know I'm not a bad digimon?" he suggested, wishing that he could do something to make everything better. Takato shook his head.

"No, it's really my fault," he replied. "I was the one who shot my mouth off and…"

Trailing off, he shook his head and sighed once more.

"I don't know. I just don't know Guilmon."

Again, he glanced over his shoulder at his partner.

"Takato?" the dinosaur asked upon their reaching the bottom of the stairs. "You keep looking at me funny."

"It's…It's nothing," Takato replied. "Come on. Let's go to the playground."

Guilmon nodded and followed his partner. However, in spite of the namesake of the location, they didn't do much playing, and instead Takato contented himself with sitting on the railing of a long wooden bridge leading up to the slide, his mood somber. Guilmon was fine with that. He didn't think it was a good idea for a friend to force themselves to play for the sake of others. If there was one thing he liked about Takato, it was that kind of honesty he had, even if he didn't say it out loud.

Climbing up onto the railing to join him, he set himself down, his tail dangling over the railing, providing a tempting target to poke for a pair of curious children.

Guilmon's tail twitched as their fingers did just that, but he was fine with letting them have their fun.

"You still mad at me?" he asked after several minutes had gone by. Blinking, Takato looked briefly at his partner before looking away.

"I'm not mad…I'm just worried about you, that's all," he replied slowly, one hand rubbing the railing.

"But why?" Guilmon asked, tilting his head to one side as his big, golden eyes gazed at his partner, trying to puzzle him and his feelings out. Takato stared off at the edge of the tree line, his eyes distant.

"When you digivolve, you scare the pants off me. How you look… Your eyes…"

Troubled, Takato's voice trailed off, thinking back over recent events.

"It was just me," Guilmon replied, giving his partner a small smile, hoping to comfort him.

"But you barely even knew who I was!" Takato's lips set themselves into a thin, tight line, working through the memories and all the worries that came with them. "What if, one day, you like..quantum digivolved and totally forgot me? Or who you used to be?"

Tightening his grip on the railing, Takato could feel his worries welling up in his chest. Digivolving… It was all so new to him. It seemed to him that he hadn't really given it much thought other than the mechanics of trying to figure out how to get Growlmon to turn back to Guilmon.

Guilmon looked back at the boy, his smile growing.

"I wouldn't forget you. You're my friend." Seeing that this didn't appear to cheer him up, Guilmon's ears wilted and he looked away. Was this why he got upset last night? Because he was worried how much he would change by digivolving? He remembered how scared Takato had been when he digivolved to Growlmon, but that didn't seem to bother him for very long.

_Maybe Takato was just hiding it because he didn't want me to worry and maybe it came back because I digivolved to WarGrowlmon and I became too big for him?_

There was more to it though, he was sure of it. Thinking about it, all of this seemed to have started during their battle with DarkLizardmon. Something about it had spooked him.

_It wanted him to make it digivolve… Oh! This is like what Rika went through with Renamon because of IceDevimon…_

Armed with a better understanding – at least what he hoped was a better understanding – he smiled comfortingly at his partner again.

"Takato, no matter how much you change, you're still you. And no matter how much I change, I hope you know…I'm still me too. 'Kay?"

Turning toward his partner with a look of amazement, Takato's eyes grew wide, as though he were seeing Guilmon for the first time all over again.

"Guilmon…"

"Yeah?"

"You are totally amazing. It's like it was only yesterday that you were thinking and talking like a baby, but look at you now! You see things so clearly. Maybe even better than I do sometimes."

Guilmon laughed. "I get it all from you Takato." He paused before looking back at him. "Takato, I'm not sure what a friend is, but I think it's this feeling I have now, of you being you."

Takato's eyes softened a little and he glanced away.

"You've evolved in more ways than just digivolving," he said quietly. "I…haven't evolved at all."

_"Takato digivolve!"_ Guilmon exclaimed suddenly, laughing loudly.

Climbing to his feet suddenly, Takato pumped his hands into the air. "I'll evolve to!" he shouted before suddenly howling like an animal, earning him more than a few odd looks from the children still playing nearby.

_"Takato, digivolve tooo…Takatomon!"_

Feeling a bit better now, the goggle-wearing Tamer looked down at Guilmon, smiling.

"Guilmon… I'm sorry about acting all weird you know…yesterday?"

"Why? You said you were only worried about me, right?"

"I know, but I should have realized even though you were Growlmon on the outside, you're still the same bread snarfing goof on the inside, right?"

"Right!" Guilmon chirped and with that, their friendship reaffirmed and the darkness of Takato's worries dashing away, they both broke into loud howls aimed at the glowing sky.

**###**

Makuramon gazed at the pair from the trees, frowning at their antics.

_I don't understand these two,_ he thought. _Takato digivolving to a…Takatomon? Does that mean that this child is a digimon? I sensed nothing digital about that human. He's not like the Gennai's or other such digital life forms that lack attributes. Perhaps…his partner? The Hazard digimon?_

This…Guilmon was proving to be quite the puzzle for him. In all the vast stores of knowledge about digimon – and with regards to Hazard digimon, they were paid especial attention – there was nothing about a _Guilmon_ ever recorded.

_Troublesome. Very troublesome. I should destroy them now, while they're helpless and unaware…_

He shook his head. No. Those weren't his orders. He was sent to scout. To observe the Sovereign's potential adversaries and to reclaim the Catalyst if he found it. The Sovereign needed it if it were to wage war against his enemies. The most important task to a Deva was to show loyalty to the Sovereign in all things.

He would observe. He would obey.

**###**

"There's definitely a new structure there," Ken said, having finished downloading the images Stingmon had taken during his recent scouting mission. "See?" Ken pointed to the antennae on the picture before comparing it with an older shot. "That wasn't there before, and it doesn't look like anything I've ever seen before."

"It looks like a regular antenna to me," Davis frowned, taking a closer look at Ken's computer. "I don't get it."

"There are slight differences between what we're used to using for every day operations in the real world," Wormmon chimed in. "Ken understands it better than I do, but government versions have to account for impacts our signals on the digital world."

_"Or_ for equipment that needs to scan the digital world," Ken added, pointing to a dark box on the side of the tech. "That right there especially. This worries me because it looks like they're adding a lot of power to the equipment. Remember how during the war we'd use lasers and the like on digimon?"

"Sure. Send them viruses, vaccines, or turn up the juice and hurt them with raw power. Scanning equipment could do that." Davis' eyebrows rose up. "Wait. Is that what these things are? Bigger guns to roast digimon in the digital world or something?"

"Hard to say at this point," Ken said, frowning darkly. "There are a few differences between this and the weaponized models in use during the war and afterward. Maybe this is the next new version meant to prevent bio-emergences in major metropolitan cities? We need to know more. I…"

Ken abruptly broke off as he heard the sound of running feet from outside the agency. Looking up, he saw shadows shifting beneath the crack at the bottom of the door, and then suddenly there was a loud _thump._ The door flew open and armed soldiers wearing black armor and face masks stormed in, their rifles – the latest in anti-human-digimon ordinance – glowed red at the tips as they drew bead on the Digidestined. Ken, Davis, DemiVeemon and Wormmon all froze in shock, barely even registering the order to not move until the soldiers were on them, handcuffs already coming out.

"H-Hey!" Davis exclaimed, coming out of his shock. "What the hell…?!"

"Davis!" DemiVeemon shouted, only to cry out in pain and surprise as one of the soldiers whipped out a baton and smacked the hapless In-Training with it, electrical sparks flying off the weapon and curling around the digimon like a serpent.

"Restrain your digimon!" one of the soldiers shouted, guns turning on Wormmon next as he prepared to move to defend DemiVeemon.

"Don't Wormmon!" Ken shouted. "Don't do anything!"

"But…Ken…" Wormmon began, turning toward them. Before anyone could say anything further, there came a polite cough and a shadow swept across the room. A man wearing a dark suit entered, and the soldiers parted before him.

"I would advise against further struggle, Mr. Ichijouji," the man said, his tone soft. "And the same for you, Mr. Motomiya."

"What's going on here?" Ken asked heatedly, grunting as the cuffs were slipped around his wrists, the soldiers tugging on his arms a little hard as they went about their work.

"You already know," the man in black replied simply, striding up to the computer screen and swiveling it around. "For a detective, you seem to not understand one of the basic principles of detective work. _Don't be seen."_

He glanced up at Ken. "Tell me. What reason do you have for spying on Hypnos in such a manner? This looks like a solid case for treason. You'll be lucky if having your license revoked is _all_ you have to deal with."

"What is the purpose of the dishes?" Ken asked, not bothering to deny anything or explain himself. "The power that those things are hooked up to…"

"I believe that's quite enough now," the man in black interrupted, raising a hand. "Take them away."

"Hey!" Davis exclaimed as all four of them were being hauled out. _"Hey!_ Watch it! DemiVeemon! Where…? What are you doing to him?! Let him go! Leave him alone!"

The soldiers didn't listen as they brought out a gold colored net – a makeshift faraday cage reserved for the capture of any digimon below Champion. Perfect for partner digimon as it assisted in disrupting the power transfer from digivices. His teeth clenching together, Davis gave a sudden, angry _lurch_ forward to protect his partner.

"I said _let him go!"_

The soldier holding him cursed loudly, attempting to restrain him. Davis bucked and jerked, almost breaking free.

Almost, that is, until a surge of electricity shot through him, sending him mercifully into unconsciousness with a scream.


	91. Episode 13: Awaiting Shadows

Tally worried her lower lip as she watched the technicians swarm over their workspace, screwdrivers running loudly from the effort of refitting Hypnos' equipment. Finally, unable to take it anymore, she spoke up.

"Excuse me, please don't tamper with that too much! It's hard keeping that one adjusted."

The technicians continued on with their work as if they hadn't heard her, causing the woman to lean back and bite her lower lip again.

"Jeez…" she sighed. "I wonder what's taking place here?" Glancing over at Yolei as she lifted her visor up, she continued. "Hey Yolei. What do you think _that_ is?"

Taking out a small mirror, Yolei unfolded it and leaned closer, brushing at her eyelashes while widening her eyes so as to check her contacts. Although she didn't feel any discomfort, now was as good a time as any to check and make sure that they sat right.

"No idea," she replied after a moment. Closing up the mirror, she turned in the direction of their seats and the dome that hung overhead, making note of the sheer number of extra hard drives being added and the number of cables that were being plugged in as well. The whole thing looked like a mess, but if it was Takeru's order…

"Well, whatever it is, it ain't pretty."

"We sure didn't get authorization for this," Tally noted, frowning slightly.

"Takaishi does what he wants," Yolei replied, a resigned note to her voice as she scowled. "I can't begin to tell you how many times I've gotten on his case about that and he just charges on ahead anyway. Just know all his projects mean bad news for somebody."

"Shouldn't we report this?" Tally asked. Yolei shifted uncomfortably. Reporting… She had lodged complaints about Takeru before – most especially after the incident with the tunnels that nearly resulted in Ken's death – but nothing ever came out of it. If anything, Takeru squeezed all the tighter on the reins of power.

"You're new here," she said finally, tilting her head to one side. "Well, new compared to me. It'd take a lot for Takaishi to fire me, and he and I have…combat history together. No offense, but you…you don't have that kind of protection. Someone like you, with the way he is now…he'd fire you in a heartbeat for rocking the boat even a little bit. If I were you, I wouldn't ask too many questions and keep your head down."

Tally scrunched her face up, clearly not happy with that response. It wasn't the sort of thing she expected from one of the Digidestined. Yolei couldn't blame her. Years ago, she would have felt much the same. She still did in fact, but her emotions were tempered by long experience with these affairs.

_The world of adults is dirty and hard,_ she thought, her hand coming to rest on the four-week-old bump that was growing in her womb. The new life that she and Ken were bringing into the world. One day, it would feel much the same way that she did as a child, and would have its own feelings once it grew into an adult. She almost felt terrible bringing something so vulnerable and so small into a world so full of danger and darkness.

Almost.

_The world can be beautiful too, if we help make it that way and show where that beauty lies where we don't,_ she thought, her hand caressing her belly. Seeing this, Tally raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, are you all right?"

Yolei smiled sadly at the younger woman. "Yeah. For now, anyway. I'm just…worried. I didn't mean to bring the atmosphere down, I guess… I just want to protect you while I figure out how to fix this problem with Takaishi. I just…wish I knew what to do."

It felt odd, confiding in Tally in such a personal manner, but the woman had proven to be a valuable coworker and something of a friend since joining Hypnos two years ago. Besides, Ken wasn't around at the moment for her to vent on or confide in, and Tally… Tally was still new enough where she _needed_ a friend and protection from the harshness of Hypnos.

They both needed to trust one another. That was the hard lesson she had learned from the days of her youth.

Tally pressed her lips together as she rocked against the corner of the control panel behind her. Before either of them could say anything however, the door to the main control room opened, and in walked Takeru and…

_"Izzy!"_ Yolei exclaimed in surprise, scrambling to her feet. The strawberry-haired man's eyebrow's rose up upon seeing her and he nodded with a smile.

"Hey Yolei," he greeted. "It's good to see you again."

"And you," the purple-haired woman bowed politely. "I'm glad to see that you've returned safe and sound from the digital world. And might I say…congratulations on you and Mimi becoming parents? Mimi emailed me about her pregnancy a little bit before you went up into space."

"Thank you," Izzy laughed, rubbing the back of his head as a light blush colored his cheeks. A small smile crossed Yolei's lips upon seeing this. It was so odd seeing the man get flustered when it came to the love of his life, but she knew how much his relationship with Mimi had changed him for the better.

_Not that he was a terribly bad person to begin with,_ she thought with a touch of amusement.

"If you could kindly hold off on catching up until later," Takeru interrupted, flicking his lighter open, "I have some business to attend to with Mr. Izumi."

"Ah, right," Yolei said, taking a step back, keeping her expression neutral while inside she seethed at Takeru's sudden, cold interruption. Yet she held back her retort, not wanting to give him any reasons to consider getting rid of her.

All the while, Tally watched the exchange curiously, opting not to comment just yet, as per her superior's earlier advice.

"If you would follow me…" Takeru said, indicating for the Digidestined of Knowledge to suit action to words as he started toward the main operations equipment. Glancing at Yolei, Izzy did just that, but he frowned at Takeru's treatment of their friend.

"You didn't have to do that, you know," Izzy said, turning back to Takeru as the other man snapped his lighter shut with a loud click.

"As I said," the blond-haired head of Hypnos began, "I have some business to attend to with you. Ms. Inoue can catch up with you later. I told you earlier, we're about to launch a test of our latest program that will help us contend with the Dark Ocean and prevent them from causing harm to our world."

"Yes, you did," Izzy nodded, still frowning at Takeru's dismissive attitude before taking in the massive web of circuits, computers and wires around Hypnos' primary operating system. It had been a while – a _long_ while – since he had last seen this room. It had changed a bit in places and obviously seen some upgrades even before this latest round. "I take it that you would like me to inspect the program's code?"

"We're too close to the actual test for that, but I assure you that we have gone over it with a fine-toothed comb," Takeru replied. "It's afterward that I'm more concerned about."

"Afterward?" Izzy asked.

Takeru flicked his lighter open. "The purpose of this initial test is to have the program lure in any digimon from the Dark Ocean that survived the recent V-Pet incident and then transport them back to the digital world. But this won't be enough. We're aiming for bigger goals to ensure that the Dark Ocean can never wage war against our world ever again. This goal should be well within this program's capabilities, but should something come up during the testing, it would be prudent to have the best programmer in the business who understands the structure of the digital world to be on hand."

Takeru turned toward Izzy, a small smile on his face.

"Wouldn't you agree?"

Izzy was silent for a moment, digesting this. "It certainly is ambitious," he replied finally. "But how can you prevent the digimon and other entities living in the Dark Ocean from crossing over to our world or the digital world?"

"That's my surprise. I would like for you to pay close attention to all the readouts while the test is operating. I think you'll find it most… _interesting."_

With that, Takeru flicked his lighter closed with a loud snap.

**###**

Matt and Gabumon made their way through rows of stone monuments, one hand in his pocket, holding onto the harmonica that his partner enjoyed hearing ever since his childhood, though today it would not be played for the pleasure. Not in this place at any rate. Odaiba's memorial to the fallen in the war – one of the many memorials that littered the city – held a certain sacredness that, for Matt, did not leave him feeling comfortable being here or even breaking its silence.

After a moment, they came to a halt in front of one particular stone and Matt withdrew his hands, his harmonica glinting in the light of the setting sun. Gabumon's eyes widened, seeing a set of roses lying in front of it.

"Matt…"

"Yeah," the light-haired man nodded. "Mom must have been here earlier."

He closed his eyes, wondering how she was getting along.

_I should call her later,_ he thought, and he would. The irony of Takeru's change in behavior was that it resulted in him and their mother connecting more. His younger brother barely talked to her anymore; throwing everything he had into Hypnos and his dealings with the digital world, much like he barely had time for anyone unrelated to either.

_So much for family,_ he thought. He stood there in silence for what felt like an eternity before Gabumon tugged at his pant leg indicatively.

"Matt. We can't stay here too long, remember? You promised Sora that we'd be home so you could take her out to dinner."

"I know. I'm just…trying to think of what to say."

"You could always start with, 'Hey Dad,'" Gabumon replied. "That's how you always did it when he was alive."

"Yeah, but 'Hey Dad' always sounds awful here." Adjusting his jacket, Matt took a deep breath. "Well, I guess I'd better keep it simple. So…yeah. Dad. I'm home from space. I connected with Tai again and we helped some kids save the world. Turns out that the digital world isn't done with us yet. Go figure."

Frustrated, Matt ran a hand through his hair. "Really, I don't know why I'm doing this. I never did before."

"Maybe you just need to vent. You know, like Sora's teakettle. Sometimes you get like that whenever you get hot enough under the collar."

"I used to have Tai to punch for things like that," Matt grumped in annoyance. "But he went _back_ to the digital world."

Sighing, he continued. "Anyway… After we got back, we met up with Takeru again. I'd say that he's…gotten worse. Just thought you might like to know since…well… I don't know. What dad wants to hear that their youngest kid doesn't talk to their mom all that much anymore and shut out everyone in their life because they never stopped fighting in the war? I don't think I ever would. I don't know what to do about him."

He sighed again, tightening his grip around his harmonica. "I think…that's probably what this is really all about. My talking to your tombstone like I've lost my mind. I'm looking for answers about TK and I don't know where to get them. There's no Dark Ocean to get him free from. Giving him an inspirational speech isn't going to snap him out of it either. This is all something he's decided to do a long time ago and when he disappeared from our lives, we couldn't help him."

He turned his gaze skyward. "And sometimes I feel like that's our fault. Like we _should_ have done something. Should have been able to. We had all that experience fighting the darkness… Not just with the Dark Ocean but also with what we have inside of us, but we didn't do anything. We all just kind of…fractured in a way. Tai went to the digital world; Kari… She was never the same…"

Turning his gaze back down to the tombstone, Matt scowled, his eyes shining slightly as they became a bit wet.

"Gabumon? Why am I talking to Dad's monument again?"

"Because you're venting, I think and you can't punch Tai," the blue-furred wolf-digimon replied. "A lot of things happened after all and a lot of it wasn't good. And I know you don't want to ruin your evening with Sora so…"

"So I'm taking it out on an inanimate object instead of punching out Tai or talking to Sora," Matt finished. "That definitely helps. I almost thought I was going crazy there for a second."

"You're welcome," Gabumon smiled. "That's what friends are for, right?"

_If it is, what does that make me and Tai? Or me and Sora?_

Not finding an immediate answer – and perhaps not wanting to – Matt pushed the thought to the side and lifted his harmonica to his lips.

Before he left, he would play a tune for both partner and departed, honoring the sacrifices of both, past, present and future.

**###**

Janyu Wong made his way down the hallway to his apartment home, his thoughts slowly moving away from work to his family, wondering what everyone was doing and how their days had been. Events had _finally_ settled down at work, for which he was _immensely_ grateful. His place of employment had been bombarded for weeks on end by the press and on social media by the average citizen. The cause of which being two-fold; first due to his university having a research department concerning the development of artificial intelligence with an eye for how it could have risen so prominently in the digital world, and second having to do with Janyu himself.

The calls and pressure to have him removed from his position due to being one of the designers of the original digimon AI. After all, the entire war had been because of _him_ and the research of he and his friends. What was to stop him from causing _another_ one?

What was preventing him from creating another digital life form that wouldn't fail to destroy humanity?

Though the messages and outcry were hardly anything new – save for the sudden surge of them – these thoughts weighed on Janyu a great deal over the years, and it showed in his face more than mere age could be responsible for. His hair had rapidly lost a great deal of its color, and wrinkles lined his face, though not yet in such a way to be a detriment to his appearance with regards to social functions, something for which he was grateful, but beneath the surface lay a subtle tension, like a spring wire.

A wire that would he feared, snap, when put under further pressure.

He paused at the door, instincts trained into him since childhood causing him to blink and then turn at the sound of footsteps. Finding a man wearing a dark suit and a black hat that hung down just enough to shroud his eyes, Janyu frowned, feeling a light sense of tension directed at him.

_One of the anti-digimon members?_ he wondered, feeling his martial arts training starting to assert itself.

"You are _Ching-yu Wong,_ I presume," the man said in a smooth voice that only caused Janyu's tension to rise even further.

"Janyu," he corrected, feeling his heart pick up its pace a little, his body flooding itself with chemicals in preparation for fight or flight.

"The kanji in your name is not how we read it in Japan," the man replied, his voice thoughtful. "But never mind. You've led a rather interesting life as a young man. The network was still small back then."

Janyu turned away, but kept the man within his eyesight. His scowl deepened. This was starting to feel more and more like he was dealing with one of the anti-digimon activists. He quickly thought back. Did he receive any threatening messages at his home? He couldn't remember any. His personal information was well-protected by the government.

_Not that anything is perfect,_ he noted.

"Who are you?" Janyu asked.

"Think of me as a _ghost_ from your past, Mr. Wong," the man replied. "From when you and your reckless friends thought you could do _anything._ And now, we've all payed the price for that."

Janyu's face remained stone while inside his worries only grew in intensity. They were being sought out now…again! The 'accident' with Shibumi – oh, he heard the rumors – hadn't been enough. "Why don't you just tell me what you want?"

"I need you to help me find one of your old playmates. One who _refuses_ to grow up; who is working on the project right now."

"What are you talking about?" Janyu asked, quickly going through the mental list of his old friends from his college days. Of all of them, only one had ever wanted to continue with the cancelation of the AI project, but an accident put him into a coma.

_There's no way it could be Shibumi,_ he thought.

"You will know in due time," the voice of the man replied, causing Janyu's blood pressure to rise along with a sudden surge of anger.

"Who _are you, huh?!"_ he shouted suddenly, spinning quickly to confront the man…only to find his son, Henry jumping back in bewilderment.

"Ah! Uh… Hi…Dad," the boy stammered out, eyes wide with astonishment at his father's sudden and unexpected move. He looked like he was ready to fight with someone. Could it have been the man he just passed?

"H-Henry," Janyu began, breathing a heavy sigh as the tension ran out of him in one, smooth rush. Henry blinked, taking stock of the situation before continuing.

"Is there…something wrong? Who were you yelling at?"

Before Janyu could respond, the door to the apartment swung open and out strode Suzie, smiling happily while clutching Terriermon close to her chest.

"Welcome back!" Suzie sang. Looking over her shoulder, she swung the poor rabbit-dog digimon around, presenting him to Henry. "Come on, Princess Pretty Pants! Welcome them home!"

Terriermon, dressed in a child's bib and bonnet with a pacifier crammed into his mouth, looked terribly upset. His only greeting was a series of pitiful moans as tears sprang to life in the corners of his dark eyes. Henry's eyes twitched, already guessing what kind of nightmarish torture the poor Rookie had been made to endure at the hands of Princess Suzie.

"I-I'm home…" Henry stammered out. Shaking his head, Janyu placed a hand on Suzie's shoulder.

"Now Suzie," he began, looking at Terriermon sympathetically. "What have we told you about playing rough with digimon?"

"But he's fine with it, see?" Suzie said, and suiting words to action, she grabbed hold of Terriermon's cheeks and began to tug at them, giggling happily all the while, causing the poor, long-eared digimon to grunt and gag, barely restraining a scream at her antics. Frowning at his daughter's treatment of Terriermon, Henry reached out and pried him loose from her grip, much to the girl's dismay.

"Daddy…!" she protested, only for the man to lift her up into his arms and onto his shoulder with a loud grunt.

"Why don't you give him a breather?" he asked, not wanting to upset his little girl too much. "I haven't seen you all day, so why don't you tell me all about what you've been up to?"

"Okay!" Suzie chirped, her initial displeasure at being bereft of her favorite toy vanishing almost immediately. As she set about telling Janyu how her day went, Henry closed the door behind them and slipped out of his shoes.

"Are you okay, Terriermon?" he asked.

"Am I okay?" the dog-bunny huffed. "She nabbed me while I was in the middle of a good game of Digimon World, blowing away evil digimon, and then I got squished and squeezed and made to wear a bonnet… She put a _diaper_ on me, Henry! A _diaper!_ Do you have _any_ idea how humiliating that is?"

"You couldn't say no?" Henry arched an eyebrow at his partner in confusion.

_"You_ try saying no when she gets all cute and everything…or when she throws a tantrum because you don't want to play." Terriermon crossed his arms over his chest. "I tell you. That girl is going to be trouble when she's a teenager. She's already got this entire family wrapped around her finger. Just imagine how she's going to be when she's Jaarin's age and dating!"

"I don't want to," Henry sighed, lifting up his partner and planting him on his head. "Anyway, I'd better go see what kind of damage you've done to my room. Digimon World? I'm afraid at what I'm going to find in there."

"Relax. I was fighting a Penguinmon. At the worst, your room might be a bit chilly… Or a Numemon bio-emerged and pooped all over the place."

"You're not filling me with a whole lot of confidence," Henry groaned, giving his mother a greeting as he passed her by and headed toward his room.

"Hey, you okay?" Terriermon asked, looking down at him. "You feel kind of funny."

"I feel kind of funny?" Henry asked, raising his eyebrows in confusion. Terriermon nodded.

"Yeah. You get this weird thing to your head whenever you're worrying about something. I don't know how to describe it, but I've been sitting on your head long enough to know when you have something prickling you. What's up?"

"Just…thinking," Henry replied, opening his door to a crisp, clean room exactly the way he had left it, save for the Digimon World game on his computer still running…and acting bizarre as a series of digimon outlines kept popping up on the screen without any rhyme or reason to them. "Dad's been pretty tense lately because of the V-Pet stuff. I kind of wonder if he has someone stalking him. He was acting pretty weird in the hallway when I got home. Like he was talking to someone, and…I noticed a weird looking man wearing a suit passing by. He kind of reminded me of Mr. Takaishi."

Although his father tried to keep it as private as he could between himself and his wife, Henry overheard one of their discussions. The frustration and tension was plain in their voices, wondering if they were going to have to move or if they needed police protection… If the police would even protect them at _all!_

"Maybe he's keeping tabs on him or something?" Terriermon offered.

"I don't know," Henry shrugged. Reaching up, he lifted his partner off his head and set him back down in his chair. "I'll see about asking him later, when he's not playing with Suzie. He looks like he kind of needs it."

"I'm glad _someone_ needs it, because I sure didn't," Terriermon huffed before scowling at the computer screen. "Oh man… What happened here? I don't remember these digimon here."

"Maybe we should put away the possessed computer game before it creates another digimon," Henry chuckled, setting his hands on the keyboard and quickly restarting the game. The game, of course, was not the same one that had birthed Terriermon, having been confiscated by the authorities once they were contacted about the situation., but it remained something of a personal joke between them, more so in recent months than it had ever been.

"No way!" Terriermon scowled. "I want to play some games! I had to put up with Suzie all day, so I deserve a happy ending to my nightmare!"

"Momentai," Henry laughed, patting his partner on the head. "The game's up and running now. Just try to keep it down, okay?"

"I make no promises except to blow up evil digimon!" Beaming, Terriermon bounced in the chair in excitement. "All right! Stand back denizens of the digital world! Terriermon's back!"

Smiling lightly at his partner, Henry stepped back and picked up a book from off his shelf. Settling himself down on his bed, he opened it up and began to lose himself in its world and the company of his partner, the sounds of Janyu playing with Suzie echoing from down the hall.

It might be analogue, but there was definitely something to it.

**###**

Impmon bounced from rooftop to rooftop, a dark, bored look on his face. His day so far had been…average, if not below. Unable to locate any humans that looked interesting enough to terrorize with his dark powers and fire, he simply settled on raiding a local convenience store for some manga to read and some food to eat, which made up the highlight of his day.

_Not exactly what I'd call interesting,_ he thought. _I should be getting entertained every day, but instead it's just dullsville around here._

He twitched upon landing, feeling an odd sense of electricity in the air. Rubbing at himself, he cast his eyes around, looking for where to go next…and then spied a tiny ball of orange hanging out on a railing, gazing up at the sky, wing-like ears flexing…a _Patamon_. Impmon blinked, struck by a sudden sense of déjà vu. Hating it, he punched the side of his head lightly and turned back, only to find that the Patamon had been replaced by another digimon; a white blob with a large head. Shoving aside the oddity of his brief hallucination, a wicked grin crossed his face. He had seen this digimon around before, always cooing to himself, sometimes hanging out with the Tamers, and generally being what he perceived as a nuisance.

_I think it's time for a little fun,_ he thought, starting toward the little creampuff, keeping as quiet as possible.

**###**

Calumon stared up at the sky, feeling himself prickle a bit. He couldn't describe the feeling in the air any better than that. It was as though someone were trying to tickle him from both the inside and outside, but didn't know how to tickle properly. It happened shortly after he left that strange building behind, the one with the two towers and was dark inside. It seemed like a fun adventure at first, but after a while it became depressing and…a bit scary. It felt scary in a familiar way as well, though he didn't know why.

Whatever the case was, he just knew that he didn't like it and that was enough for him.

While he watched, his eyes grew even wider, and he swore that he saw something crackle along the orange glow of the sunset, and something…a grid he thought…flashed across the bright expanse of sky before vanishing.

"This is strange… The sky is starting to look just like the place that I came from."

_"Boo!"_

All of a sudden, a dark-furred, pale-face shot into view with a hideous grin. Frightened, Calumon fell back off the railing and hit the rooftop behind him with a heavy thud.

"Ohhh… Did I scare the adorable Calumon?" Impmon asked, folding his arms over his chest triumphantly. "Not so tough when you're tumbling like a sack of potatoes, _huh,_ fat face?"

Calumon was up on his feet and bouncing on the rooftop angrily. He recognized this digimon, and heard about him from the times he visited Guilmon to play. Impmon!

"You're a big meanie-weenie!" he shouted, shaking a tiny fist at Impmon as he jumped up and down angrily. "No wonder you don't have any friends!"

"What good are friends?" Impmon scoffed. "You run around being all cute and cuddly, and what's that done for you?" He stomped on the railing. "A little twerp like you, being coddled by humans and smiling all the time and acting _cute!_ Aren't you a digimon?" He smirked down at Calumon. "If you've got a problem with it, then try loading me and digivolve! Or can't you do that?"

Calumon blinked. "I won't digivolve," he said simply, to which Impmon's eyebrows rose in bewilderment at that unexpected response.

"What're you talking about? _Won't_ digivolve?" That was _definitely_ a first. Every digimon he knew wanted to digivolve and grow stronger. The power aside, it was better to digivolve, otherwise one simply became a meal for another.

"No wonder no Tamer wants you as a digimon. They just put up with you 'cause…what's the word I'm looking for? Oh yeah. _Pathetic!"_

Folding his arms behind his head, he began marching on the railing, feeling a bubble of laughter building up inside him.

_Talk about a disgrace to all digimon,_ he thought.

"What a young digimon like you needs isn't friends, but some good advice, and it's your lucky day 'cause I'm in a sharing kind of mood!"

Stopping, he planted his hands on his hips, surveying the city.

"Life my friend is all about survival of the fittest. That's when the best and the brightest – that's me – wipes the floor with the meek and the weak – that's you." Turning, his green eyes met Calumon's large ones. "So, if I blast you to Kingdom Come and absorb your data like I'm plannin' on doing, don't take it personal, it's just nature taking its course."

He smirked wickedly, causing Calumon to shrink back, crying out in terror. Turning, the tiny creampuff of a digimon jumped into the air, his ears expanding to give him flight. _Tsking_ to himself, Impmon allowed him a three second head start before raising a gloved hand and snapping his fingers, causing a crimson fireball to light up just above them.

"Ready or not, creampuff. Here I come. _Bada-Boom!"_

With that, he flung the fireball in the direction of the retreating Calumon, just as the sky flickered and flashed again, revealing grid-like lines behind it.

**###**

_"Operation Juggernaut, initiate,"_ intoned a technician's voice over the loudspeaker as Yolei swiveled in her chair. On the screen, she saw a series of waves converging on their location. Feeling anxious, she glanced down at Takeru.

"I'm getting an abnormal reading. Sir, is this all part of the project we're testing? The Juggernaut?"

"Yes," Takeru replied, flicking his lighter open. "But it's nothing to be concerned about. We're just giving it a test run. Using data from the digimon we've captured, I've constructed a digimon composite to act as bait. Instead of us hunting for them, they'll come to us."

"You're _brilliant,_ sir," Tally said, awed as the data was being fed to her through her visor.

"Well, that's your first accurate observation," Takeru smirked, flicking his lighter closed. Beside him, Izzy thumbed his chin. It most certainly _was_ brilliant, and not just because of the digimon bait that Hypnos was using to attract whatever remaining Nightmare Soldiers were left in the city. From what he could see, Juggernaut inverted the network's flow, which would create enough digital force to punch through the firewall, creating a portal anywhere they directed it. After that, it was a simple matter to return the flow to normal, and then suck digimon and any data released during the portal's formation back into the digital world.

_Very clever indeed,_ he thought to himself. _If this works, we can eliminate the risk of battle in the real world considerably._

His smirk growing, Takeru turned toward the exit. "I want to see this for myself," he said. "Stay here if you want."

Izzy hesitated for a moment before nodding. He watched the man go until he had left the room before reaching into his pocket and pulling out his wireless earpiece that Takeru had made him turn off and remove before allowing him entry. Turning it back on, he slipped it in.

"Tentomon," he spoke up softly so as to not be heard.

_"Izzy! What's going on? There's suddenly a great surge of data!"_

"Yeah, I know. Listen, I'm right in Hypnos' main control room. What can you tell me about what's going on?"

Drawing out his digivice – its screen glowing subtly – he pointed it around him, the wireless signal gathering data as he did so. Within moments, he had an answer.

_"Oh dear… Izzy… This isn't good at all. Something… There's_ something _on the other side…_

_"Operation Juggernaut…activated!"_ reported the technician over the loudspeaker.

**###**

Takato and Guilmon returned to their hideout, both feeling more at ease now that the bedrock of their friendship had been reaffirmed. Opening up the gate with a loud creak, Takato stepped aside to allow his partner entry.

"Hey Guilmon," he began with a touch of excitement in his voice. "Now that we're back on track, I have all these attacks I want to try. A-And maybe we should have a team name too, like _Awesome Twosome,_ or _Dynamite Duo._ What do you think?"

"Maybe something involving bread?" Guilmon laughed as he stepped inside and settled himself down in the pit he had dug for himself. Laughing back, Takato followed him and went over to where he had set his back, unzipping it so he could get at his card box.

"Come on, we need a dynamic name so that we can scare our opponents and make a cool entry scene! Man, we should have a pose too, that would be pretty…Ah!"

"What's wrong?" Guilmon asked, lifting his head up at his partner, concerned about his sudden exclamation.

"My cards! Ah, man! I forgot! I left them at the playground!"

Panicking, he patted down his bag until he found his Tamer deck. Breathing a sigh of relief, he sat back. "Well, at least that's still there. I'm not a total Gogglehead. Well, either way, I've got to get back to the playground and…"

Takato and Guilmon both blinked as a low, rumbling noise resounded upon the air, growing louder, and with it, the ground trembled.

"Huh? An earthquake?"

"What's an earthquake?" Guilmon asked, climbing out of his hole.

"Stay down!" Takato said quickly. "It's dangerous to be standing up when the ground is shaking! Oh man… Is this going to be a bad one or…?"

The trembling died off. Seeing that it was safe, for the time being, Takato climbed back to his feet, indicating that it was okay for Guilmon to do likewise. Stepping out of the hideout, Takato took notice of a bright column of blue light rocketing toward the sky, and dark ripples were flowing across the golden fire of the sunset.

Guilmon crouched down, his whole body tensing up as his instincts began to hit him _hard._

"Takato, something's coming!" he warned. "A digimon… And it's _really big!"_

Tightening his fists together, Takato gazed at the rippling fire in the sky for a moment longer before rushing over to his bag. Taking out his battle deck, he stuffed it in his pocket.

"All right," he nodded. "Then let's go!"

With that, the two partners took off to meet the coming darkness.


	92. Episode 14: Dark Sunset

The soft glow of golden sunlight illuminated Rika's yard as she sat on her porch, her socked feet rubbing against each other. Her eyes were set in deep thought, thinking back on events over the past months since becoming a Tamer.

_Things feel…so different now,_ she thought, passing one toe over the other and curling them together. _I never thought I'd feel this way… It's kind of weird. It's like I can't remember…what I used to be so angry about. I don't even feel like poking fun at Takato and Henry's silly digimon anymore._

She could feel the truth of her thoughts about her feelings echoing from the deepest corners of her heart. Almost without realizing it, she felt more…settled. More at ease with herself and the people she hung out with. Although 'hanging out' felt a bit of a stretch, she couldn't help but find that she enjoyed her time with Takato and Henry. Training Takato gave her something to do, and she saw his improvement in the time that she worked on him.

_He's not as hopeless as I thought he was,_ she noted, an unknowing, amused smile crossing her lips. _Not like I'm going to tell him that, but…still. Why though?_

She leaned her head back on the support beam, feeling her ponytail squish awkwardly against the back of her head, but she ignored it for the time being. Wondering _why_ she became how she was now held her attention, and she gazed up at the ceiling, as though it held the answer.

_When I first started out…I wanted to go to the digital world and find my dad. I was promised that if I made Renamon strong, that I could do just that. Instead…I'm here._ Not _doing that. Am I wasting my time?_

Her socked toes curled again and her thoughtful expression was marred briefly by a slight frown.

_What_ am _I doing? Am I okay with all of this? With everything being the way they are now? Didn't I have a mission?_

She knew she still wanted to make Renamon stronger. She felt that desire burning within her, and she still wanted to go to the digital world and find her father as well. Yet she also knew that, of late, she made no significant effort to pursue either of those goals and instead contented herself with training a rookie Tamer. What was more, as much as she hated to admit it, she even _enjoyed_ teaching him.

_Sure, he's a bit weird, but…he's at least happy when I show him some new trick or strategy._

She knelt her head to look down at her feet, relaxing her toes. Takato… Her thoughts were drifting to him a bit more lately due to that business at Okinawa and the Trinity Burst that they performed along with Henry to defeat Gulfmon. His dream of her continued to stand out in her mind and, at times, soured her moods when she wasn't thinking of Davis' growing relationship with her mother. No explanation for it and the digital world did nothing to throw hints at them that might elaborate on its meaning. She teased him before about him being 'in love with her' and she wondered if he took that deluded dream as a sign that they were 'meant to be,' but aside from one crack about her being his dream girl, he didn't do anything to indicate that he felt that way.

He remained the same Gogglehead that she knew when they first clashed; wearing his heart on his sleeve, offering friendship and never expecting anything from her.

And now, here she and Renamon were. After everything they threw in the faces of those two boys she derided as 'wannabe Tamers' it was as though they _became_ them. Partners… How she treated Renamon and other digimon…

_I've become like them. And Renamon…_

Feeling out with her senses, she found her partner a short way away and touched her mind questioningly, indicating she wanted to talk.

"Renamon. When you fought Harpymon, you didn't load her data. That's the first time I've seen you do that. Why?"

At the girl's question, the vulpine digimon materialized next to the girl, appearing as though she had always been right there next to her.

"I didn't need to," she replied, glancing at the girl out of the corner of her eye.

At this, Rika felt slight confusion wash over her.

"But…how will you digivolve?"

"I think digimon with human partners don't need to absorb data. Something special about their relationship with their Tamers makes them digivolve."

Rika glanced down at her feet again, her toes massaging each other still.

"So…" she began after a moment. "What you're saying is…you think Sora was right."

She thought back to the documentaries of the Digidestined and the War; what Sora and everyone else had been saying to her.

She thought back to the crests that glowed upon Takato and Henry's chests…and on hers as well. She remembered that feeling. That something had woken up inside her. It was like a light had been turned on. She hadn't thought much about it at the time – having _other_ things to focus on – but now…

_Friendship, huh? How weird is that? I didn't set out to make friends or anything. I just wanted to go to the digital world and find Dad._

"I said a while back that it wouldn't help you digivolve higher," she resumed, picking up the threads of conversation again. Renamon nodded in recollection.

"The purpose of digivolution is not simply to grow stronger," Renamon replied. "That's what I believe."

_Not simply to get stronger, huh?_ she thought, rolling her partner's words around in her head. "I see."

"Rika?"

"No, it's nothing," she said with a shake of her head. "I guess I'm just a little happy to hear that." Lifting her head, she looked up at the ceiling. "In the past, I never thought I could feel this way for a digimon. Well…recent past anyway. I…used to feel this way about Biyomon, but then…" She sighed and shook her head. "I don't know. I think I got pretty messed up for a while there. I'm not sure why. Maybe hearing all those stories…"

She trailed off. All the documentaries and histories showed her nothing but digimon fighting and invading. One could easily come away with the notion that was all they were built for, but with everything she's seen, heard and experienced since then…

_I'm such a Gogglehead,_ she thought with dry amusement.

"Come to think of it," she grunted, getting to her feet. "I wonder how that little one is doing now. You know, Calumon. I haven't seen him in a while."

As she said this, she saw, off in the distance, twin columns of light shoot up to the sky, and in response, her digivice began to click and beep in alarm. Her eyes narrowing, Renamon rose to her feet.

"Something's coming," she said, her tone full of tension as ripples began to appear across the sky, emanating from the two columns. "Something _big._ This won't be another normal bio-emergence."

Rika narrowed her eyes at that. "Terrific. Better go see what the digital world is throwing at us _this_ time."

Hurrying back into her room, Rika grabbed her deck and digivice and with that she shot off in the direction of the twin columns, ready to face this new threat.

**###**

Calumon ran full tilt as his tiny, digital lungs panted and gasped for air. His ears hurt, having spent themselves in their attempt to flee from his pursuer. Impmon… Who had threatened to load his data and chased him relentlessly, flinging crimson fireballs that would narrowly miss him – 'tenderize him' as he put it – until they were now both down on the ground, dodging the forest of human ankles. He looked over his shoulder, spying Impmon following at an almost leisurely pace, or appeared to be leisurely for him, until he found himself tripping over a crack in the sidewalk. With a cry of terror, both for himself and deliriously at the thought of a mother breaking her back, Calumon tumbled face first to the ground. Seizing his opportunity, Impmon closed the distance and crushed his foot on the diminutive digimon's back, pinning him.

Moaning, Calumon turned his head to look up, finding Impmon with a raised finger, grinning triumphantly. A red flame flickered to life above one finger.

"I'm gonna load you now," he said simply.

_Oh nuts…_ Calumon thought in despair. After everything he went through…everything he _survived…_ He was going to die here and be loaded by this digimon?

Calumon grunted as Impmon ground his foot into his back, the black Rookie preparing to finish what he started. However, as he locked eyes with him, Impmon hesitated. A strange sense of _familiarity_ washed over him, and his grin dropped almost immediately. He blinked…

_He stood there, standing over the battered and broken form of a Patamon, lying prone on shattered ground, data leaking out of an ear wing that had been torn off. He could feel his smirk growing across his face._

_"Sorry pally," he crowed, reaching down and picking up the defeated Rookie with a massive, clawed hand. "Looks like you lose this one."_

_The Patamon shifted in his talons and opened his bright, blue eyes exhaustedly._

_"Boom Bubble…" the Patamon wheezed, his body starting to expand as it drew in air, but Impmon found his grin growing further across his face at this, squeezing all the more tightly in response. There was a final cry and then shining data rose from his claws where the Patamon had been._

_"Like popping a balloon," he laughed._

_Huh?_ Impmon shook his head, breaking eye contact with Calumon. _What was that? Why am I remembering stuff that never happened?_

He didn't get a chance to answer that thought, as Calumon's ears suddenly expanded, startled by something. _Tsking_ to himself, he half expected a trick, only for the sounds of the humans surrounding them to suddenly take on a bewildered tone. The fire on his fingertip flickering, he craned his head over his shoulder, finding twin columns of light spearing the sky.

"Huh?" came his intelligent, stunned response at the sight before he felt his data start to shake, causing him to stagger off Calumon with a startled gasp.

"W…What the…?" he began, only to catch a glimpse of Calumon taking off, having seen his exit.

Impmon cursed and started after him, only to collapse as his body was suddenly hit by a _tugging_ feeling, drawing him toward the light behind him.

**###**

"Must…go…now…"

"Hey, Terriermon, are you okay?" Henry asked worriedly, prying his partner away from the window while behind him his family looked on with worry. It happened all unexpectedly. One second, they were all starting to have dinner and then, suddenly, with a flash of light from the two towers of the Shinjuku government building, Terriermon found himself wandering over to the window, pressing himself against it and clawing at the glass with his paws.

"I'm…not doing…okay at all…" Terriermon gasped, half struggling in Henry's grasp. "It's got me…Henry…like a…magnet! Can't…resist it!"

"This is strange," Janyu said, stepping between Terriermon and the window, glancing over his shoulder at the twin towers of the Shinjuku government building. "Just what is happening over there?"

Henry frowned, looking over his father's shoulder as Terriermon began to settle down.

"Okay…" the rabbit-dog digimon began, rubbing at his head. "I'm starting to feel a little bit better now. Holy momentai. What the heck was that?"

"It looked like that light was doing something to the sky," Henry replied, stepping around his father to get a better look at the Shinjuku government building. The light had died back a bit, though it continued to stab at the sky, sending ripples along the large, golden expanse. "Was the government doing something to the digital world and it affected you too?"

"Whether it did or not is beside the point," Janyu interrupted, taking hold of his son by the shoulder and pulling him back. "Everyone, grab your bags and pack a few things. We're getting out of here."

At this, Mayumi nodded in understanding and took Suzie by the hand, hurrying her in the direction of her room. "Come on, Suzie. We'll pick out a few things."

As the older siblings, Jaarin and Rinchei darted toward their room, Janyu's eyes fell on Henry and Terriermon.

"Dad…" began the half-Chinese Tamer as Terriermon disentangled himself from his partner and settled himself on the boy's shoulder.

"Henry," Janyu interrupted, settling a hand on his son's unoccupied shoulder. "I know what you're going to say, but the answer is no. We can't stay here if we're about to have another incident like with the V-Pet. It's _too_ dangerous."

Henry could feel the tension in his father's hand, just barely being kept under control. He didn't want to upset his family any more than they already were, especially Suzie, who was young and easily frightened, and yet…

He closed his grey eyes before nodding reluctantly. "All right," he said, and he felt some tension release from his father's grip.

"I'm glad you understand then," Janyu nodded. "Grab some things then quickly and let's get going."

Nodding again, Henry made his way toward his room and quickly dug out a bag. Hopping off his partner's shoulder, Terriermon landed on the bed and turned around, planting his tiny hands on his hips.

"So, we're just going to leave Rika and Takato to deal with this?" he asked, to which Henry zipped open the bag with more force than was necessary.

"Terriermon…" he began in a warning tone.

"What? Henry, this is right up our alley and we're supposed to be helping out now. Isn't that what we're doing now? Who knows? We might need to use that Trinity Burst thing again."

Lifting up a laptop, Henry balanced it in his hand thoughtfully before setting it into his bag. Grabbing his power cord and a change of clothes for a few days, he added them to the collection.

"We don't know anything about what that Trinity Burst was," he remarked. "We might have only been able to do it because of where we were and…"

"Henryyy…" Terriermon drawled out, rolling his eyes. "You're making excuses because your dad said 'no' and you don't like disobeying him."

Launching himself at his partner, Terriermon grabbed hold of him with his ears and resettled himself on the boy's shoulder.

"This is crazy, Henry. _You're_ being crazy, and you can't tell me otherwise. We've got an 'end of the world' scenario going on outside, and you're going to run from it because you were told not to go. This is just like what happened when you didn't want me to fight. This is a really easy decision here. If we don't go, Takatomon and Rika might get clobbered."

"Ken and Davis will be there," Henry countered, folding and refolding his shirt absently.

"Can we count on that?" Terriermon counter-countered. Henry closed his eyes, feeling himself starting to shake. His hands curled into his palms and outside, the light from the towers grew in intensity.

**###**

Slowly… Ever so slowly, Davis woke up, finding himself sitting uncomfortably in a metal chair, his hands and feet cuffed to the chair's legs. Turning his head up, he found that he was alone in an empty room, save for a mirror and a table. His skin prickled, and he could feel a slight vibration, though from what he couldn't tell, nor did he care at the moment.

"D-DemiVeemon?" he asked, trying to turn in the chair, only to wince as pain shot through his side. Looking down, he found that nothing visually out of the ordinary, but he felt something restricting his movement along his side. Something that felt a bit like a bandage.

Memory came crashing down on him then. The invasion of Ken's detective agency by Hypnos' agents; DemiVeemon being struck and bagged, and then he himself resisting…

Desperate to find his partner, Davis attempted to stand, hoping to waddle around while stuck to the chair, but there was no such luck. He was as good as stuck.

"Hey!" he shouted at the mirror now. "Where's DemiVeemon?! What have you done with him?"

Receiving no answer, the Digidestined of Miracles growled and attempted to kick at the table, forgetting that he couldn't perform such a maneuver. Instead the chair creaked and groaned, which only aggravated him _more._

_"Answer me!"_ he shouted, lurching from one side to the other until, finally, the chair toppled over and he slammed to the ground with a cry. He lay there for a moment, groaning until he sat up. Grimacing at the only exit, he began to drag himself toward it, using only his shoulder and hip to push him along…inch by agonizing inch.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the door opened and a trio of Hypnos agents entered the room, and within short order, righted the Digidestined and set him back at the table, taking no notice of his furious questions and jerking movements as he attempted to break free.

"Mr. Takaishi will see you when he is ready," came the only answer he was ever going to get, and with that, all three agents exited the room, leaving Davis alone once more to stew over his situation.

**###**

Previously, Janyu never thought about owning a vehicle, nor had he a desire for one. The subway trains had been more than enough for the purposes he and his family needed when it came to getting around the city. Now however, looking up at the towers of the Shinjuku government building, with the columns of light erupting off of it and stabbing into the sky, he found himself regretting that decision. His family were now restricted to their feet. Should something happen, there was little chance that they would be able to escape it at any particularly fast pace.

"All right everyone," he began as they exited the entrance to their apartment building. "We're going to go to the…Henry?"

Pausing, he turned his gaze in the direction of his youngest son, making a note of how the boy just stood there, staring in the direction of the government building, a dark look on his face, as though he were wrestling with something on his mind.

Finally, as if a decision had been made, Henry's grey eyes turned toward his father.

"I'm sorry, Dad," was all he said before darting in the direction of Hypnos.

_"Henry!"_ Janyu exclaimed, throwing himself after him, but his son was faster, and not quite as bogged down by age as he was. Within short order, Henry disappeared, losing himself in the crowd and leaving his bewildered family behind.

**###**

"I _think_ he's going to be mad at you," Terriermon remarked from his position on Henry's shoulder, causing the boy to bite back a curse.

"Never mind that right now," he grated, hating himself for saying such a thing. His family…! It felt too much like he was abandoning them! "We have to deal with this first! Otherwise, who knows _what_ might happen?"

Yet, try as he might, Henry couldn't shake the feeling that he was abandoning his family.

_If anything happens to them,_ he thought as his feet pounded on the streets, _I'll_ never _forgive myself…_

**###**

Makuramon eyed the solitary form of Renamon as she stood on a railing, a train running past her without her paying any mind to whether or not she was seen by its occupants.

_Well… It would appear that things are proceeding ahead of schedule,_ he mused, frowning slightly, turning his gaze up in the direction of the two towers up ahead of him. He could feel his data prickling, the building attempting to pull him in its direction through whatever machinations it was running to cause those ripples to spread across the sky. It wasn't as bad as it had been mere minutes ago, but the tugging remained all the same.

_Makaaa…_ he scowled, patting at his body to still the tingling, if only for a little while until the situation was over. _How annoying these humans are. They make me itch._

Turning his gaze back toward the burning sky, a wide smile spread across his face.

_Teach these pathetic creatures a lesson, my brethren,_ he thought, eager to see the first, crushing defeat of the human defenders. _Show them that they are no match for the power of the Devas, servants of the gods most high…_

_**#** _ **##**

Takeru stood outside of Hypnos, watching as his creation – the Juggernaut – continued to power up.

_Soon…_ he thought as a swirl of energy formed in the sky and began to warp and bend upward, creating a hole to pull its targets into. _Soon we'll draw all the remaining Nightmare Soldiers into the Juggernaut and then…_

"Goodbye," he finished aloud, slipping off his sunglasses. "Beasts of mayhem, time to go away. The world will soon be free of this hideous pestilence forever."

A small smirk drew itself across his face as he took out a data pad to watch the progress of Juggernaut's activation. Everything he had been working for since the end of the Great War was now coming to fruition. The sight of flecks of data rising from the city, aiming toward the dark hole forming in the sky, was proof of this. This test was only the beginning. Soon, he would be able to _destroy_ the Dark Ocean and all the dark digimon who dwelled within it, forever ending their threat to the world of humans and the digital world at large.

Catching the sound of feet running toward him, he turned to see a young boy with yellow-rimmed goggles perched on his head running toward him, a crimson-scaled dinosaur with a hazard sign emblazoned on his white chest hurrying alongside him. His smirk grew, recognizing the Tamer. Takato Matsuki.

"Guilmon, hurry up!" Takato shouted as they drew closer. Upon seeing Takeru, recognition flashed in their own eyes and suddenly they both ground to a halt, uncertainty hitting them.

"Well," Takeru chuckled, pocketing his data pad. "Look who's come to marvel at my brilliance."

Takato furrowed his brow at the older Digidestined, uncertain what to make of his presence or his words. It almost felt like he was there waiting for him.

"This doesn't look good…" he began, only for a shadowy figure to shoot past him, causing him to spin around toward it, startled. "What's that?!"

His question was only answered with the terrified scream of another shadowy figure as it flew toward the hole in the sky, and he turned toward it, tracking it as it rose upward. As he watched, the shadowy figure – most decidedly a digimon – began to blur and then…suddenly…tore apart into innumerable shards of data, its scream intensifying suddenly before it broke completely. Stunned at this unexpected sight, his gaze fell on Takeru, who simply stood there, a proud smirk on his face.

"What's happening?" he asked. "What's going on here?"

"Takato…" came Guilmon's groaning response, his body warping suddenly. Gasping in surprise at a strange, sudden sense of tingling in his body, he turned toward his partner, a sense of terror worming its way into his heart.

"What just happened to you, Guilmon?"

"Something feels wrong," Guilmon replied, clutching at his stomach with discomfort. "I feel pulling and boiling inside me."

As if on cue, Guilmon's body warped again, becoming stretched like taffy, causing Takato to fall backward, taken aback at his partner's painful distortion. Looking around in bewilderment, he settled his gaze back on Guilmon.

"What…What was that, Guilmon?"

"This is _bad!"_ Guilmon moaned as, overhead, another digimon flew toward the hole in the sky and was fast joined by more. They were all screaming, terrified as they found their bodies propelled completely against their will toward the tear in the sky. More and more were being yanked out of the city with their brethren, and all of them were filling the air with their screams.

"What…What's going on?" he murmured, not understanding what he was seeing except digimon were being sucked into the tear and vanishing in a cloud of dissolving data. "It's like some huge digimon vacuum cleaner!"

**###**

Tally screamed in panic and tore off her visor, the horrifying sounds from outside the building becoming too much for her to bear. Burying her face in her hands, she let out a terrified sob.

_"That sound!_ Make it _stop!"_

Yolei grated her teeth, not liking the noise either, yet her years of experience with having fireballs flung at her head helped her keep her cool under the pressure.

"Hold on!" she called over the noise. "It'll be over in about eighty seconds! We _have_ to finish this!"

_Have to?_ Down below, Izzy watched as innumerable red dots were drawn into the digital icon of the Juggernaut program. His nerves were frayed as badly as Tally's, having been _completely_ taken aback by the sheer brutality of the program. Even though he wasn't watching it happen, it was painfully clear that the digimon being sucked into the portal were in pain.

"Tentomon…" he whispered into his earpiece. "What…What's going on?"

_"I've…I've gotten a hold of some of Hypnos' readouts,"_ Tentomon stammered out. _"It's terrible. Hypnos has unleashed a_ massive _electromagnetic field intense enough to affect the digital world! The digimon are being drawn to it exactly as Takeru said, but it's doing more than that! It's scrambling the realization process and stripping all the potential energy out of the false proteins! Takeru's program is ripping those digimon apart!"_

"This…This is horrible," Izzy breathed before frowning up at Yolei and Tally. "Yolei! You've got to stop this now! This program is _killing_ those digimon!"

Yolei paused in her work and looked down at her friend and former teacher. "What? Are you serious?!"

"Tentomon did an analysis! I can have him transfer the data to you now!"

Before Yolei could even affirm to him her agreement, there came a sudden flood of data flitting across her visor, almost too much at once before it slowed down. Highlights lit up across the data points, making note of key sections about the process that Juggernaut was using with regards to the digimon it pulled toward it. Yolei's mouth fell open as the full weight of what she was seeing hit her like a truck.

"This… This is _genocide!"_ she whispered in horror. Takeru… _Takeru_ planned to do this right from the very start?!

_I knew he would eventually do something that would cross the line if I didn't keep him in check,_ she thought, remembering when Ken had been nearly killed by Yuggoth in the tunnels. _But this… I never dreamed he would do something like this…_

And then, before she could do anything else, Juggernaut ceased its functioning as a foreign code suddenly invaded its programming.

**###**

Watching the scene unfold, Makuramon cackled as a blue light suddenly burst free from the tear in the sky, sending the remaining digimon flying back toward the city and bringing its magnetic pull to a halt. He could feel it in his data.

"Now the game begins," he chuckled. "Makaaa…"

**###**

"Why is this happening?" Takato asked, watching the red light of the portal burn murderously as it devoured digimon after digimon.

"We had no other choice," Takeru replied, approaching the goggle-wearing boy, still smirking as Takato looked at him in bafflement.

"Let's just say we're controlling an infestation," the older Digidestined continued, ignoring Takato's confusion. "All _vermin_ must go."

"But you can't just destroy all the digimon," Takato exploded, half panicking in realization as to what was going on. "Guilmon's my best friend!"

"Don't think I'm not aware of the relationship between a digimon and their partner," Takeru replied, approaching the pair. "Not to worry. The system is designed to root out digimon that aren't partnered with a human, with a special area of focus on the group known as Nightmare Soldiers. Many Nightmare Soldiers were in the real world during the V-Pet crisis. Too many for us to find by normal means. With this, we can be sure to get them all in one fell swoop."

Coming to a halt, he gave Takato a grave look. "No matter what the case, all Nightmare Soldiers and digimon that come from the Dark Area must be exterminated. Those _things_ aren't capable of friendship or even being reasoned with. You will find this out in time…provided that the Dark Ocean stays around long enough for that to happen."

Raising a hand, he lifted it toward Guilmon, only for the dinosaur to flinch back, growling defensively at him.

Smiling at the Rookie, Takeru lowered his hand and returned his attention to Takato.

"Your part in this is over I'm afraid. I wish I could say that I'm sorry, but believe me. I'm saving you a lot of trouble down the road."

"But… Those digimon…" Takato began uncertainly, looking back up at the sky as digimon continued to be drawn to the vortex, dying by the score. He could hear their cries, so full of pain and so full of fear. "Are they _all_ Nightmare Soldiers?" That thought solidified in his mind and a dark anger rose up inside him. "How…How do you know that all those digimon are bad ones?"

Walking past him, Takeru chuckled in amusement. "You naïve little boy… To think that any of the digimon being drawn into Juggernaut were sinless is a sin itself. The Nightmare Soldiers spent who knows how long integrating themselves into our world, designing our programs and putting themselves into key positions and locations just so they could unleash their virus on an unsuspecting world. The only guiltless digimon at this point are those that have a partner. The digital world joins like souls to protect it. Your little playmate here isn't just a friend. for you to have fun with. It's a tool. A weapon. Do you _really_ believe that digimon of yours was anything else when you were needed to complete one such weapon?"

Takato's mind flashed back to Okinawa, remembering the Trinity Burst that he, Rika and Henry created to destroy Gulfmon, and he found his resolve faltering a little.

_Is it true? Is Guilmon really only here because the digital world needed him for the Trinity Burst?_

Now that he thought about it, of the eight Digidestined, most of them were Vaccines to counter the Dark Masters and other viral digimon, and in the Emperor War, digimon with the ability to Armor Digivolve were drafted. None of them, so far as he knew, had a choice in being partners. Did that mean…?

"Don't talk about Guilmon like that!" Takato exploded furiously, clenching his fists tightly. "Digimon are…" He paused, his fire vanishing as he fumbled for words, and he looked at Guilmon, hoping for an answer to come to him. "Digimon are…" he stammered again, gazing into his partner's gold-colored eyes before turning angrily back at Takeru. "There are _lots_ of digimon who are friends with humans and this one happens to be my _best_ friend! But you…! Hey are you listening?"

Shaking his head, Takeru turned away, still smirking.

"So naïve…"

Guilmon turned away from the verbal combat between the adult Digidestined and his Tamer as a scent caught his attention. Something _sparked_ within him and his eyes glowed brightly. "Takato…"

"Huh?" the goggle-wearing boy asked, his attention now being yanked away from the Bearer of Hope.

"It's _coming!"_ Guilmon replied ominously. All thoughts of Takeru vanished at once just then and turned to face his partner more fully.

"What is?"

In response to his question, the vortex began to pulsate and then changed from a deep, red light to an azure blue, and a column of light of its own emerged from within, enveloping the Shinjuku government building.

Takeru was smiling triumphantly as he continued to walk away from the young Tamer. That boy… He reminded him of himself from his own, younger, foolish days, back when he too believed that friendship had been the foundation that the partnership between humans and digimon was built on. It hurt to think of Patamon in that fashion – the two had cared deeply about one another after all – but it didn't change the fact that Patamon had been chosen by the digital world's powers for his attributes, and then programmed to be the _perfect_ partner for him to point at the Dark Masters.

As much as he hated to admit it, the dark version of Gennai who engineered the virus that nearly destroyed the digital world all those years ago had been right. Digimon were slaves, after a fashion, and their programming went so deep that they not only didn't believe themselves to be such, but they wanted nothing else but to be with the human they had been shaped for.

Yet, in spite of himself, he couldn't help but miss his former partner, long ago loaded in battle. They had been through so much together…

He was broken out of by the beeping of his ear piece. Tapping it, he scowled as Yolei's voice came through on the other end, sounding urgent and bordering on the frantic.

_"An anomaly has infiltrated the Juggernaut! It's coming through the vortex!"_

_"What?!"_ Takeru exclaimed, taking out his data pad again to confirm Yolei's words. The screen displayed the warp in space above them, and on it there was a red bubble marching along the spatial tunnel. Shock registered in his voice when he next spoke.

"But…that's _impossible!_ This program is _flawless!_ I designed it myself! _Nothing_ can get through there!"

Spinning around, he turned his gaze up at the sky, a terrible, sinking feeling starting to form in the pit of his stomach.

"This _cannot_ be happening!"

No sooner were the words out of his mouth, the air _shook_ as a flash of light tore across the sky…and tore indeed as a split of blue cut across the glowing fire of the sunset, revealing the wireframe of the dimensional warp that lay between the worlds.

**###**

" _Warning. Warning. Warning…"_ were the words Izzy heard from the computer over and over as they flashed across the screens surrounding Yolei and Tally. He was shaking as he watched on the screen the red bubble as it drew ever closer to the exit of the funnel.

"Tentomon…!" he gasped, just as power began to deactivate throughout the room, leaving them dead in the dark.

_"It's too late!"_ his partner said on the other end. _"We can't stop it! It's going to breach whether we like it or not!"_

"Yolei!" Izzy shouted. "You've got to call Hawkmon and get him down here! We…!"

Izzy was suddenly cut off as a thunderous voice boomed across the air, causing the man to jerk back, startled by the volume.

_A digimon…_

" _Oh humans, who have created us…"_ the voice began.

**###**

_"…We obey none but our own god,"_ Takeru heard a voice thunder from the heavens. _"The time has come to claim our place in the Real World! Humans now exist only to serve us in our eternal evolution!"_

"What do you mean?" Takeru asked, turning from where he had collapsed in shock just in time to see a blue aura begin to encapsulate Hypnos. This declaration was…not what he expected. Digimon from the Dark Ocean had no interest in using humans to power digivolution, at least not on a mass scale. The Demon Lords and the Dark Masters had all believed themselves to be superior to anything that a human-partnered digimon could be capable of. Did that mean that their priorities had changed? Was the Nonaka child just an experiment? A _whim_ as Ken had been to balance the scales of power in their never-ending conflict with the powers of light? Climbing to his feet, Takeru clenched his fists tightly, glaring at the darkened heavens.

"Don't be ridiculous!" he countered forcefully. "Humans exit to serve you?! Who are you?!"

The voice laughed and thunder cracked upon the air as it spoke in response, having heard him from so far below.

_"I am only a representative of those who are to be your_ masters!"

_Serve… Masters._ These were the words of the servants of darkness.

"I can't let you do this! I will _never_ be a servant to any of you, viral scum!"

_"It's because of_ you _that all this happened,"_ the voice snarled thunderously. _"I should thank you. You have opened a portal to the real world for_ all _of us!"_

Takato, who had been holding onto Guilmon protectively, drew back, a nervous determination flowing through him as he watched the azure light completely envelop the Shinjuku government building, causing a digital field to billow up at the base. The voice… He had no idea who it was or what digimon group it served. He knew only one thing was certain.

This had to stop and soon.

"If our world's overlap," he said, taking a step closer to Hypnos. "we could all be destroyed! We've got to find a way to close up that hole!"

_"Damn it!"_

Turning at the explosion of anger from behind him, Takato found Takeru slamming his fists against the wall in rage, refusing to accept what was happening, yet powerless to deny its reality.

"This means that what I've done… I made a hole for them to come and go into our world freely! All of this… Was this their plan all along?!"

_Well, he's out of it,_ Takato thought, lowering his goggles over his eyes. "Let's go, Guilmon."

"Right!" the crimson dinosaur chirped, and with that, the two partners rushed off into the fog as it fell over them, leaving Takeru Takaishi to wander off in an almost drunken stupor as the enormity of the situation fell on him.

**###**

Henry and Terriermon made their way through the darkening park, not liking the way the Shinjuku government building was shaping up.

"I've never seen a digital field like this," he said, slowing down so as to catch his breath.

"Correction," Terriermon pointed out. "We saw something like this at Okinawa, only, you know, it got turned into its own digital world."

"True, but this is different though," Henry said. "This has all the markings of a portal. You heard what that voice said. And just look at the size of the digital field… This is going to be a _huge_ bio-emergence."

He swallowed nervously. The biggest they ever dealt with had been Mephistomon and Gulfmon, and both times they barely survived the encounter.

"Well, if worst comes to worst, we can always hit the mon with our Trinity Burst thing, or wait for the cavalry to show up," Terriermon said. "Besides. We can digivolve to Ultimate now. That should be enough for most of our problems, right? Momentai!"

Henry wished he could share Terriermon's confidence, but he supposed he was right about one thing. As long as the other Digidestined were around, they stood a chance at winning.

As he thought this, movement caught the corner of his eye, and he found a familiar man passing by, looking stunned and uncertain. Their eyes caught in the gloom and the spark of recognition grew not just in him, but in the man as well.

_Mr. Takaishi…_ he breathed before the man suddenly lashed out and grabbed hold of him by his shirt, lifting him up into the air. Giving a startled cry, Terriermon fell to the ground with a dull thud.

_"You…!"_ Takeru snarled. "This is _your_ fault! _You're to blame!_ You and your father and his friends! Did they plan this? Did they want our world to fall to…to artificial intelligence?!"

It made sense, in his rage-filled mind. He read the work of the Monster Makers. Janyu especially had been ecstatic at the thought of artificial intelligence becoming a daily part of the world. It couldn't be so, and yet…

Yet there _had_ been humans who sold humanity out for even less during the Great War.

_"Leave him alone!"_ Terriermon shouted, and upon hearing his voice, Takeru looked down at him, seeing him ready for battle. Glancing back at Henry, he released him. No… It was doubtful that this boy had anything to do with what was going on. He let his anger and frustration get the better of him. This was _not_ the way.

"You're not worth it," he grated, turning away again and heading off, just as Rika darted into view, fists clenched and ready to throttle the man.

"What's his problem _this_ time?" she growled, glancing at Henry, who was brushing down his shirt.

As if in response to her question, Takeru stopped and shook his fists at the sky angrily.

_"It's your fault!"_ he shouted at the tear in the sky. _"You're the ones responsible for disrupting the order of this world! Now look what you've done!"_

"Yep," Terriermon huffed, planting his paws on his hips as Renamon materialized into view. "That was _definitely_ rude!"

Deciding to let the matter go now that Takaishi was no longer being a threat, Henry glanced at Rika.

"You ready?"

The fire-haired girl nodded her affirmation, and with that, they and their partners took off in the direction of Hypnos.

**###**

Takato and Guilmon now stood at the foot of the Hypnos building, the fog around them glowing as energy pulsed along the borders of the digital field. Next to him, Guilmon made questioning, groaning noises as he puzzled out what he could of their current predicament.

"It's so high…" he whined, and Takato nodded in agreement.

"We've got to get up there," the boy said, just as a shadowy figure flitted above him, bounding up toward the roof with a graceful ease. Pulling his goggles up, he frowned, watching it as it disappeared. He caught a flash of gold, which told him everything he needed to know about its identity.

"Renamon?" he murmured aloud in awe at the vulpine's athletics.

"I'm going too," Guilmon said, and Takato nodded, preparing to follow his partner, only for Henry to approach from behind at a run alongside Rika.

"Don't go yet!" he called, drawing up to a halt, earning him a surprised look from Takato.

"Okay… Why not?" he asked, looking at Rika as she came to a stop. "What's up?"

"Not you," Rika replied sarcastically, taking out her digivice.

"I meant _up there!"_ Takato said in exasperation, to which Rika smirked as the holographic circle materialized above her digivice.

"So did I, now be quiet." Taking off her sunglasses, she hummed questioningly to herself as Renamon's view of the battlefield was fed to her just as the kitsune flipped onto the rooftop. Presently, there was nothing, save for blinking red lights on a helicopter pad, causing the girl to frown in confusion.

"I don't get it," she said disquietingly as Renamon swiveled her eyes around to get a better view, "there's nothing there."

"It doesn't make any sense," Henry said worriedly as the two boys crowded behind her.

"It's a digital field, there's got to be _something_ there," Takato added. Seeing something in the dull, hazy view, Rika raised one hand to shush them.

"Hold on. _There_ you are."

An armored tiger with great, feathered wings came into view just then, blood red eyes glaring at Renamon. Through the link that she shared with Renamon, Rika could feel the sense that this digimon was _massive,_ even when compared to a Champion.

_So probably an Ultimate,_ she thought, not liking this development. However, there was a problem.

"But…why…am I not receiving any data?" she asked, _really_ not liking the situation now. "What kind of digimon is this?"

This sort of thing had been bad enough when Renamon took on Guilmon for the first time, but at the higher levels they needed every scrap of knowledge they could get to determine the best course of action to dealing with an opposing digimon.

"Who cares?" Terriermon shot out as he launched himself off Henry's head. "What's it going to do? Bite me? We can take him!" Landing, he turned toward Henry. "You ready?"

"Wait!" Rika interrupted. "Renamon will handle this! She can digivolve to Ultimate now!"

"Hold on…" began Henry, only for a flash up above on the building to break across the beginning of his protest. Their eyes darting back to Rika's digivice, they saw that the strange digimon was now attacking Renamon, slashing at her with its massive claws, with the kitsune barely escaping each time.

"Renamon!" Rika exclaimed, running toward the building as worry and concern filled her heart. If this digimon was as powerful as she thought…

"Rika! Use this Evolution Phase card!" Takato shouted, digging through his combat deck. Finding what he was looking for, he flung it at the girl without even thinking, and it spun with surprising grace and speed, never wavering for an instant even from the slightest gust of wind. Gasping in surprise, Rika caught it and quickly slashed it through her digivice.

_An Evolution Phase card? When did he get that?_ she wondered as the sparks flew from the card slot, but she didn't pause on it too long to be impressed by it. Renamon needed her help _now!_

_"Digi-modify! Digivolution activate!"_

_Go…Kyubimon…_

**###**

She found the tiger looming before her, eyes, blood red, gazing at her dispassionately, gauging her. Finally, after a moment, it snarled.

"So… Nightmare Soldier or human pet?" it asked. "You have the smell of _both_ on you."

Narrowing her eyes, Renamon stood up. _This digimon radiates power,_ she thought. _I must be careful._

"Who are you?" she asked, not bothering to reply to its question. "I have never seen a digimon like you before. Who do you represent?"

The tiger chortled, pacing around her now, and Renamon turned, keeping it in her field of vision.

"That is of no concern to you," it told her. "You have only two choices. To serve the Sovereign, or to be destroyed. Which shall it be?"

"Neither," Renamon replied tersely, realizing that there would be no negotiations with this digimon. Whatever it might be, from what she heard from the voice that spoke earlier, there was only one course of action left to her if she were to remain true to Rika.

Fight.

Seeing this as her answer, the tiger struck, slashing out with its claws with deadly force. Renamon danced back… _barely_ escaping as she did so.

_Quick,_ she noted with a grimace. _Rika…_

As if on command, power flooded her being, and a shell of data formed around her. Eight tails joined her one, and she fell on all fours as her snout elongated and a ribbon formed around her neck. The shell shattered, and she pronounced her digivolution.

_"Renamon! Digivolve tooo…Kyubimon!"_

Empowered by Rika, Kyubimon's eyes met the tiger, who simply snorted derisively, clearly not impressed with her digivolution.

_We'll see how long that lasts,_ she thought.

"How about a dance, big boy?" Kyubimon teased as she raced toward the tiger digimon, having digivolved just in time to rally for a counteroffensive. Her tails swept behind her as the tiger charged her with a roar.

"Tough guy, huh?" Kyubimon leapt into the air as the tiger did likewise, and they passed by each other, neither doing any damage to each other. Kyubimon narrowed her eyes. The tiger was at least twice her size without its tail, and the beast looked _heavy._

_I can't afford to take a hit from that thing until I digivolve to Ultimate,_ she thought, landing behind the tiger and quickly coiling up into a ball. Blue fire lit up around her body and snaked out at her opponent just as its tail glowed and transformed into three, segmented, solid nunchaku.

_"Dragon Wheel!"_ Kyubimon shouted.

_"Samurai Tiger Tail!"_ the digimon returned, its tail flicking at her with explosive force. Wind sliced across her attack, blowing it apart before it could even connect. Uncoiling from her ball, Kyubimon barely had enough time to recover before she saw the tiger charging at her again, coming in for the kill. Kyubimon leapt into the air as the tail sliced at the spot she had just been, narrowly missing her. The wind from the attack played forcefully along her fur, slowing her descent down, causing Kyubimon's eyes to widen in shock.

_Powerful… Rika! I need to digivolve again!_

But something was wrong. She could feel it through their link. For whatever reason, digivolution wasn't going to come anytime soon.

Sink or swim time.

Summoning all of her strength, Kyubimon rolled up into a ball again, and once more sent a torrent of fire at the giant feline, but the tiger plowed through it with terrifying ease. Crying its attack again, its tail lashed out and slammed into Kyubimon's ribs full force. Renamon felt something _snap_ within her and she was catapulted off the rooftop.

**###**

"Come _on!"_ Rika growled, glaring at her chest, waiting for the symbol of Friendship to appear, but for some reason it simply wasn't answering in response to her call. Becoming furious, she turned her gaze skyward, just in time to see Kyubimon get blasted off the building, and she felt her heart jump into her chest in horror.

For as she watched, Kyubimon's body first blurred, as if she were about to disintegrate, and then glowed before receding into her smaller form of Renamon. She made no attempt to stabilize her fall. She didn't seem to be moving at all, and within short order, gravity, that harsh mistress of reality, took hold of her limp form and she came plummeting to the ground, slamming into the concrete _hard,_ causing it to crack and shatter with explosive force.

"No way!" Takato exclaimed as they all rushed over to the fallen kitsune, Rika arriving first. As the dust cleared, Rika barely repressed a gasp at the sight of her partner, beaten and battered, a thin, small trail of digital blood oozing from her mouth.

"Renamon…" she whispered, kneeling down and reaching out with one hand hesitantly, pausing only briefly, as if afraid that at her touch the vulpine digimon would disintegrate, before letting it fall gently on the soft, golden fur.

"Renamon? Are you…?"

Renamon groaned and her blue eyes flickered open, a shudder passing through her body as she did so.

"So…strong…" she whispered hoarsely. "Ultimate… Possibly even…Mega…"

"Don't try to talk," Rika replied, her voice cracking a little as she gazed at her partner, taking in her hurts. She hadn't seen her like this since her battle with Dokugumon. She had been near death then. Was she…?

Rika dared not follow that line of thinking. She _dared_ not.

"Is Renamon all right?" Takato asked as he and the others looked on. Renamon groaned again, struggling to rise, but as yet, found herself unable to do so.

"Can't…move…"

At this, Terriermon glowered at the rooftop, his tiny fingers tightening into fists before rushing toward the building.

"That's it, I'm going, Henry! That tiger's toast!"

Frowning, Henry nodded before withdrawing his digivice and a digivolution card.

_"Digi-modify!"_ he shouted, as sparks flew from the slot on his digivice. A shell of data immediately surrounded the diminutive digimon and grew before bursting apart, revealing Gargomon in all his gun-toting glory.

"Go get him!" Henry told him, and Gargomon smirked.

"Going full power! _Gargo Lasers!"_

Aiming at the ground the Champion fired his hand cannons, causing the sidewalk to detonate and send a cloud of dust and debris flying through the air. The force of the blast sent him rocketing skyward, and within short order he landed atop the roof.

Down below, Takato looked worriedly at the inert form of Renamon as Rika knelt over her, massaging her fur gently. A shadow fell on his heart just then and he turned his gaze up at the sky. The buildings loomed over them ominously, and for a second he saw them as a giant, twin-headed monster, shrouded in darkness with gleaming red eyes.

_Renamon…_ he thought, swallowing nervously. _She was beaten so easily… If she lost, what chance do we have?_

"I don't understand," Henry said, his eyes closed as he concentrated. "The crest… I'm not feeling it at all! There's nothing! What's going on here?"

"Ah!" Takato gasped, turning toward Guilmon, as if remembering that they both were there and capable of helping. "Let's lend a hand, boy!"

"Uh-huh!" Guilmon nodded before charging at the Hypnos building. "I'm going to need a lot of peanut butter after this one!"

Feeling his heartbeat kick up a notch, Takato felt as though his mind were boiling and about to crack. Blinking to clear it, he dug into his pants pocket and pulled out another digivolution card along with Hyper Wing.

"Here goes nothing…" he whispered before slashing the cards in rapid succession. At once, Guilmon was surrounded by a shell of data that quickly exploded, revealing Growlmon once more. Glowing wings, courtesy of the Hyper Wing card, emerged from his back and the massive dinosaur leapt into the air to join his companion in battle…a battle that was already progressing, judging by the sheer number of emerald lasers that were slicing through the air.

"Come on boy… Good luck."

**###**

Gargomon gasped as he heard a low, guttural growl behind him almost immediately upon landing, and he saw the dark, massive shape of the tiger come padding around, oddly enough _not_ attacking him despite having the element of surprise. Instead it…watched him, circling in such a way that it struck him as a show of confidence. A _challenge_ even.

_He's not worried about me at all,_ Gargomon swallowed, lifting his arms and taking aim. He felt the roof shake as Growlmon abruptly landed next to him, and the feline's red eyes narrowed as they looked over at him, considering the two on one matchup before baring its fangs.

_"Definitely_ not cute," Growlmon said, getting into a crouch. Gargomon could only make a nervous noise as he tracked the tiger…and then fired.

_"Here, kitty, kitty, kitty!"_ he shouted, raining blast after blast on the armored tiger, but the feline took each shot without so much as flinching. Rearing back, a burning light lit up the back of Growlmon's throat and he launched a fireball at their opponent. _This_ got the tiger moving, though whether from being uncertain if it could take the attack or if it was making its move, neither digimon could tell for certain. Instead it leapt to the other tower, followed quickly by another barrage of attacks.

"Looks like we've got him on the run!" Gargomon cheered, though his words belied the nervous feeling in his digital heart.

_We obey none but our own god. Humans now exist only to aid us in our eternal evolution."_

**###**

"Gargomon!" Henry called, trying to track the course of the battle. "I've got to help him, but without any data on that thing, I won't know if I'm using the right card! We're fighting blind here!"

"Our…Our crests…" Takato stammered out, clutching at his chest as he clenched his eyes shut tight in concentration. "That's our best bet!"

"I can't get mine to work!" Henry snapped. "And it doesn't look like you can either! Start thinking about how to _help_ Growlmon! Until one of the Digidestined arrive, it's our best shot!"

Takato blanched but quickly fanned through his cards, hoping to find _something,_ but Henry's reminder that they had no information on their opponent beyond its casual defeat of Renamon stuck with him.

"Maybe if I…" he began, but Henry's frustrated groan broke his concentration.

"He's gone around the other side!" the half-Chinese Tamer growled, having caught sight of the tiger as it dropped down from the rooftop and then flanked their partners.

"No! Growlmon!" shouted Takato.

**###**

The rooftop rang as laser blasts slammed into their surface, drowning out Henry's voice from down below. Gargomon was now realizing that their target had given them the slip, but where…?"

"Gargomon!" Growlmon snarled, spinning around just in time to see the tiger dart to the side. Joining the reptile, the gun-toting bunny launched another round of energy blasts that tore up the roof floor.

"What's the matter, are you a fraidy-cat?" he taunted. "Okay, where are you? Come on out and fight!"

Growlmon launched another fireball to add to his friend's attack, but increasingly he was beginning to feel that he wasn't being of much use. His attacks were too slow and the tiger moved too fast to get a proper bead on.

"If only I could get closer…" he said before dashing forward, trying with a snarl, seeing a shadow move. Yes! That was the answer! If he could just get closer, he could _really_ put some hurt on this cat! It almost seemed to be avoiding his attacks on purpose.

_Does that mean it's afraid of me?_ After what it did to Renmaon, Growlmon rather liked the thought.

Sniffing the air, Growlmon felt an alarm burst in his head and he ground to a halt in midstride, twisting just in time to see the tiger flying at Gargomon just as his arm cannons spun their barrels and hit empty. The tiger's tail glowed and transformed, revealing itself as a chained nunchaku. Leaping into the air, it spun as Kyubimon did earlier, its tail glinting red from the lights around them.

_"Samurai Tiger Tail!"_

"Aw nuts…" was all Gargomon had time to say as the tail came crashing down on his skull with brutal force, launching him backward and off the rooftop. His body glowed and shrank, reforming to his Rookie form of Terriermon just in time to start plummeting to the ground below.

"I've got him!"

With that, Henry dove toward his falling partner and caught him just before he could hit the ground. His fall was light, the little dog-bunny having managed to keep enough of himself conscious to use his long ears to slow his descent.

"Are you okay?" he asked, his voice cracking with worry, suddenly regretting allowing his partner to fight again.

"Henry…" Terriermon moaned and tears formed at the corners of Henry's eyes.

"What is it?" he asked softly. Terriermon inched his face upward, his mouth whispering for him to come closer. Sensing that Terriermon's strength was giving out, he responded to the quiet request.

"It's all up to Growlmon," Takato said quietly as he looked on, feeling suddenly alone and outclassed with Henry and Rika cut out of the battle now. Try as he might, for some reason he couldn't digivolve Growlmon to Ultimate, and the Trinity Burst was no longer an option. No Digidestined were in sight either. No cavalry was coming to the rescue this time.

_Where… Where_ are _they?!_

Henry's eyes widened suddenly and his grey eyes rose up to Takato fervently.

"We might still have a chance! He always circles around like a shark just before he attacks! _That's when Growlmon can get him!"_

"O-Okay!" Takato jumped, lifting his digivice and activating the holographic circle, giving him Growlmon's view of the battlefield. "Thanks!"

_This is it!_ he thought, forcing determination into his heart. _We can't let everyone down! Not now with so many people depending on us! If we have a chance…we can win for sure!_

Just as he expected, the tiger flew across Growlmon's vision.

"There he is!" he gasped, the two digimon passing each other now. The moment they were waiting for. Looking up, he summoned all his will, and for a moment, he swore that he was right there with Growlmon, feeling the pounding of his feet, the wind blowing through his mane; the pumping of power through his heart.

_"Now Growlmon! Do it!"_

**###**

Growlmon felt the force of Takato's will flowing through him and the meaning behind it. He didn't understand how this was so, but he accepted it with a quiet ease. Understanding quickly what Takato wanted him to do, his arm blade snapped out from his elbow and he drew back with a mighty roar.

_"Dragon Slash!"_ he shouted, slicing down along the tiger's side with crackling, red light. The tiger howled in pain – yes, _pain! –_ and spun around toward him, fangs bared. Growlmon didn't give him a second to attack as he reared his head back and spat a molten fireball into his face.

_I was right! He was afraid of me because I could hurt him! I…_

Growlmon's thoughts of triumph lasted only a second. Before he knew it, the tiger burst through the flames a without so much as a burn from the attack or even a scar from the earlier _Dragon Slash,_ and latched his fangs onto Growlmon's arm, brutally crushing down on it. Digital bones broke and shattered as the tiger twisted and dug his fangs in even harder, biting through the tough muscle with almost contemptuous ease.

Growlmon roared as white hot pain exploded across his vision.

**###**

Takato's digivice struck the ground as shock broke across his arm like lightning. The arm that had earlier held the digivice now hung limply at his side, fingers twitching like dying serpents, his heart _lurching_ painfully hard in his chest. The boy gasped harshly, his vision clouding. It suddenly hurt to breathe…

Growlmon… Growlmon was hurt. Hurt badly. He didn't know how he could know that, but the reality dug beneath his flesh and stabbed into the very core of his being where he could not ignore it. He wobbled on his feet as his face grew suddenly pale, and his eyes fell on his red-trimmed digivice as it displayed the tiger that was now mauling his partner up above.

"M…Mihiramon…" the boy gasped, collapsing to his knees as he read off his digivice. "Ultimate…level…"

The pounding of his heart continued to fill his ears and then…stopped.

His eyes rolling up into his head, Takato's legs buckled beneath him and hit the ground, finding nothing but utter blackness, deep and unending, waiting for him.

"Takato!" Henry's scream tore through the air as the shadows claimed him.


	93. Episode 14: The Falling of the Light

Kari poured herself another glass of wine as she gave a heavy sigh. Her eyes felt as though they were about to detach themselves from her head and go rolling out onto her dining table. Her day had not started promisingly, and the evening did not look like it would shape up to be any better.

_Come on, Kari…_ she grumbled mentally, the noise from the TV filtering in from across room. _Focus… This stack of papers isn't going to get done any faster if you keep putting it off._

Groaning, Kari massaged her temples. The pain was back in spite of her best efforts, and even worse, laughing off her ibuprofen.

She groaned again, this time at the TV.

_I don't even have Seven Bishounen Samurai on to help get me through this…_

Her new favorite anime was currently off for the week, making way for a sports event, so she had the news on to fill the silence of the apartment. In spite of Gatomon's presence, the apartment _was_ quiet, and almost unnervingly so at times. The slightest noise made her feel ill at ease, and barring when she went to bed with her partner, she didn't dare to have a single light off.

She shuddered involuntarily. It had been dark when she had been taken during the War.

_Not that it had been safe during the day when I first encountered the Dark Ocean,_ she thought, remembering how, back when she had been a child, those dark shapes that had taken the guise of digimon, enslaved by Ken's Dark Spirals, had called to her. Night however was special, due to the difficulty in making out shapes and not knowing what the source of strange noises were. Outside in the city, things were different, as there was light and people everywhere, even in the depths of the park, but here…

Kari took another sip from her wine and settled back into her work. Just a little bit longer…

Yet, try as she might, thoughts of her brother once again intruded on her pain-filled mind.

_He could have come home… Why didn't he come home? Why did he go back to the digital world?_

Unable to take it anymore, Kari pushed away from the table and wandered over to the TV, if only to give herself a mental break, taking her glass of wine along with her as she did so.

"All done?" Gatomon asked, looking up from her spot on the couch as she munched on some fish. Taking another sip from her glass, Kari shook her head.

"I'm taking a break," she replied. "Anything interesting going on?"

"Just some talking heads going on about the V-Pet again, wondering if this is going to lead to the creation of something called _Appmon._ Sounds kind of crazy, doesn't it?"

"This from a cat who was born from a bunch of college students?" Kari quipped, earning her a playful smile from her partner, golden-tail ring glinting in the light of the TV as it flicked.

"This kitty is too cool to not exist," she returned, resuming her meal. Laughing, Kari reached out and scratched her kitty-mon's ears. Her mood lightened a little and she took another sip.

"You're right about that."

A pall of silence fell between them, and Gatomon eyed Kari with a look of concern.

"How many is that for you tonight?"

Kari paused and, blushing lightly, withdrew the wineglass from her lips, as if she were a child who had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

"More than two now?" Gatomon asked, recognizing her partner's flustered behavior for what it was.

"Three…" Kari admitted with a touch of irritation, setting the wineglass down on the coffee table. "And that's counting this one."

"You're going to regret it again tomorrow," Gatomon pointed out. Kari folded her arms together and shifted her legs uneasily. Feeling a twinge of heat between her legs, she hugged herself even tighter.

_Going to have to change my pad soon,_ she grimaced, her throbbing skull opting to make its presence known once more.

"I'm going to regret it anyway," she stated. "My body hates me right now. I'm just…trying to take the edge off."

"I don't remember you drinking thismuch to take the edge off," Gatomon pointed out, setting the remains of her fish down on her plate. "Kari… I think it's time that we had a talk about Tai again."

"There's _nothing_ to talk about!" Kari exploded suddenly, earning her a surprised look from her partner. Kari gasped at the way her ears went rigid and she glanced away, looking positively disgusted with herself.

"I'm sorry, Gatomon. I just… I don't know what more can be said about him. We _already_ talked about him after the War. What's left?"

"Maybe you just need to complain about how he didn't even stop by to say hi or anything," Gatomon suggested. "I know I'd be a little annoyed about that. Actually, scratch that. I actually _am._ That guy is willing to go to the Dark Ocean and back when it comes to you for years, but not now all of a sudden?"

"I'm sure it has something to do with the digital world," Kari sighed, dropping one arm to her side while continuing to hug it close to her. "I'm sure he and TK are both in on it. TK…"

She paused, remembering Takeru's visit at her school, and the cryptic prophecy he had given her about the 'Three Primary Colors.' Nothing about that day had made sense, and Takeru wasn't interested in letting _any_ of the Digidestined know what was going on.

"What is _wrong_ with Tai and TK?" she asked herself quietly. "I thought we were all a team…"

Gatomon watched her partner sympathetically before hopping off the couch and striding over to her.

"Why don't we go out and have some fun for a bit, huh? You've been doing nothing but working, drinking, and thinking about Tai and Takeru all day."

Kari sighed, and her shoulders sagged. She wasn't that terribly interested in going anywhere at the moment, but right now staying here wasn't that appealing to her either.

"I…need to change my pants first," she murmured with a grimace. Gatomon nodded in understanding.

"I'll be waiting."

Watching her partner head off toward the bedroom, Gatomon sighed mentally before returning her attention to the TV. Scratching her fur, she frowned, feeling once more an odd tingling in her body that she couldn't quite place, but just as it had earlier in the evening, it disappeared almost as soon as it came.

_Weird,_ she thought before the reporter on the TV caught her attention. Behind her, was the twin towers of Hypnos, glowing ominously as a blue cloud settled over it.

_"Reports are still early,"_ spoke up the reporter, doing her best to not sound frantic. _"But at this point, it can be confirmed that we are experiencing a digital world related incident…"_

_Oh no…_ thought Gatomon before spinning around and running toward Kari's room, shouting her name.

_We have a big problem on our hands…_

**###**

_Finally,_ Jeri made her way down the streets that led to Takato's house, his box of cards held protectively in her hands. She spent most of the evening going through her card collection and replacing the boy's damaged and destroyed ones, something that was easily done as her card collection was rather obsessivelyextensive. There were, of course, a few cards here and there that she couldn't replace, so she hoped they weren't ones he would miss. It would make explaining things…awkward.

Her fingers curling around the box, she hugged it close to her, thinking of the boy, wondering how he was doing. She hadn't thought of it until he exploded about 'not just playing' earlier in the day, but being a Tamer to a digimon couldn't be easy for him, especially to a Hazard digimon.

_Digimon have been showing up quite a bit lately,_ she thought quietly. _And there are people who don't like them… Could someone like that have destroyed his cards because they know he's a Tamer?_

A dark thought that it had been Kazu and Kenta behind the deed crept into her mind, and she puffed her cheeks out angrily, only to quickly discard the notion. The two were openly obsessive about digimon, and she saw Kenta playing with a toy digivice from time to time.

_Why…would they rip up Takato's cards because he has a digimon when they love them so much themselves? It doesn't make any sense!_

But then, as Jeri knew quite well, very little about the world made sense.

_Well, it doesn't matter anymore,_ she thought, caressing the box gently, as though it were a child. _Takato will have his cards back, and then everything will be okay again._

A small smile crept across her face, thinking of the relief and happiness that would flood across Takato's face one he saw his missing card collection again. He would smile that awkward, cute, goofy-looking smile of his, thank her, and they would talk about digimon…

A light blush crept across her face as she felt a warm, fuzzy glow form in her heart, causing it to skip a beat in excitement. She finally had a friend she could talk to about digimon and not feel ashamed for it.

_I should have done that a long time ago instead of making fun of himi…_ she mused before frowning slightly, seeing a throng of people gathering outside near Takato's bakery. Pausing briefly to wonder if there was some kind of special sale going on, she was quickly disabused of the notion once she took notice that everyone was staring off ahead, pointing at a bright, blue light glowing off in the distance.

A light that surrounded the Shinjuku government building.

Eyes widening, she drew closer to get a better view. Yes, she wasn't dreaming. The building really was enveloped by a brilliant aura of azure light.

"Takato…" she whispered, feeling her heart clench in her chest with worry, realizing that, as a Tamer, he would be drawn to the situation like a moth to a flame. Hugging the card box closer to her, she ran through the crowd without hesitation.

_Please Takato… Be all right…_ she thought desperately.

**###**

Wearing black pants and a dark jacket over a white T-Shirt, Kari raced through the park, Gatomon easily keeping pace. She felt the muscles in her legs tremble as her breathing began to become a bit ragged, but she pushed on regardless, ignoring her body's protests and desire to slow down.

_Wish we could have flown there,_ she mused in irritation, but at present that was an opportunity she couldn't afford to take. Not with the sheer number of military helicopters starting to swarm around the skies. The last thing they needed was an accidental scuffle with the government.

"Almost… Almost there," Kari gasped, reaching the edge of the park. Gatomon flicked her a worried look, and upon reaching the park's exit, she ground to a halt.

"Okay, we're close enough," the feline said, stepping in front of her partner to give her a reason to stop as well. "Digivolve me to Angewomon and I'll take things from here."

"G-Gatomon…" Kari began, wiping an arm across her forehead, her sleeve coming away with a sheen of sweat. "I…"

"You don't need to come any closer than this, Kari," Gatomon insisted. "I'll stay low to the ground and see what I can find out about what's going on." Glancing over her shoulder in the direction of Hypnos, Gatomon frowned. "Besides, it's not going to be a good idea if I have to fight whatever's up there and keep you safe at the same time."

After a moment of hesitation, Kari nodded reluctantly. "All right," she said, taking out her digivice. "Just…Just be careful."

Her oval-shaped digivice gave off a bright glow, and Gatomon was surrounded by a white light that formed a shell of data around her. Expanding as Gatomon pronounced her digivolution, the shell quickly shattered, revealing a tall, lithe woman with long, flowing hair and angelic wings from behind her back. A skin-tight, white outfit drew up around her body and an eyeless, steel helm with a cross emblazoned upon its surface slid over her face, completing the feline's transformation into her Ultimate form of Angewomon.

_This…This should be enough,_ Kari thought, lowering her digivice. She wondered, briefly, if she should have tried to digivolve her partner to Mega, but quickly pushed the thought away. Digivolving, she knew, wasn't what it used to be for her, or any of her fellow Digidestined.

"Stay safe," she repeated, and with a nod, Angewomon kicked away, keeping just above the level of the tree line as she hurried on toward Hypnos.

Taking a deep, shuddering breath, Kari slumped forward a little, cursing herself for being so out of shape now.

_Takato and his friends can run all over the city…_ she thought in bemusement. _It must be…so nice…to be that young…_

Catching movement out of the corner of her eye, she turned and her eyes widened, seeing Takeru approaching a tree and slamming his fist into it angrily. Her breath caught in her throat and for the briefest of moments, the whole world seemed to slow down for her.

**###**

"What's wrong with him?" Rika asked as she shot to her feet, her voice taking on an almost frantic tone upon seeing Takato collapse and cease moving all together, his digivice still displaying the stats of the digimon they were doing battle with. Henry was already hurrying over to him, his expression frantic.

"I don't know!" he exclaimed, kneeling down next to the boy. "He just…passed out."

_Fainted?_ Rika frowned slightly at that, wondering if that was indeed accurate. That _certainly_ did not look at all like what she had seen right before he hit the ground. He looked like he had been feeling pain for some reason.

"He…He's breathing," Henry reported, a sigh of relief escaping his lips as he saw Takato's body rise and fall as he took in air. They were shallow looking breaths however, which wasn't exactly encouraging and only served to worry the half-Chinese Tamer.

"That's…good," Rika replied, relaxing a little. _His brain just hit the snooze button. For a second there, I thought he was having a heart attack or something. With how tightly wound up that kid is, I wouldn't be surprised if that would happen before he gets out of high school._

Needing to reassure herself however, she glanced over at Renamon meaningfully, and the kitsune, sensing her concern through their link, nodded in understanding, a small, barely visible smile forming on her muzzle. Reaching over, Rika gave her partner's shoulder a soft squeeze, promising to return shortly, she hurried on over to Takato's unmoving form and knelt down next to him. He was pallid and sweating profusely, likely from whatever it was that had him faint scant seconds ago, but his breathing, while shallow and shaky, was even. Hesitantly, the red-haired girl pressed her lips together and lifted her hand to his face, brushing aside his hair alongside his goggles so she could touch his forehead, as her grandmother had often done whenever she felt sick as a child.

_He feels cool,_ she thought, not sure if she should be worried or if she should take it as a good sign. _Well, at least he doesn't have a fever…_

She could sense eyes on her, and she squirmed uncomfortably under their heavy gaze. Turning a sharp glare on Henry and Terriermon, she opened her mouth to say something, only to be interrupted by a sudden gust of wind as Angewomon came in for a landing, her great wings flapping upon touching down.

"What happened here?" the woman asked, her lips pressed together into one thin line at the sight of the others crowding around an unconscious Takato. Renamon and Terriermon looked horribly beat up, especially in the case of Renamon, who lay next to a crater in the sidewalk.

That there was no sign of Guilmon worried her tremendously.

"A powerful digimon bio-emerged," Henry replied quickly, snatching up Takato's digivice. "It took us a while to get any data on it, but it's powerful. Ultimate level. It took out Terriermon and Renamon. We don't know what's happened to Growlmon. He was up there on his own right before Takato collapsed."

"He must have been hit by a feedback," Angewomon said, taking the digivice and analyzing the information it displayed before the holographic circle receded. Rika raised an eyebrow at this.

"Feedback?" she asked. "Hold on. You mean like how we share energy with our digimon?"

"If a digimon is hurt bad enough, sometimes the partner takes on some of it as well," Angewomon nodded. "Especially if the bond is strong enough. We first saw it with Tai when he and WarGreymon battled Piedmon in the digital world. Takato created Guilmon, so it could be that it affects him more than it normally would and it sent him into shock."

"Will he be all right?" Terriermon asked from his spot in Henry's arms.

Kneeling down, she felt Takato's neck while holding her other hand beneath his nose. She breathed a sigh of relief, finding that he was still breathing and his heart continued to circulate blood.

"We'll see once he comes out of it. For now, though, don't let him move, and keep his feet elevated." A pause, and the angel-digimon glanced at Rika. "It might be a good idea to call the ambulance."

_This Gogglehead is going to have to start_ living _in a hospital,_ Rika thought, hurriedly digging her cell phone out of her pocket, cursing herself for not thinking of that to begin with. Seeing this, Angewomon climbed back to her feet and turned her head up toward Hypnos' rooftop.

"So all the fighting is up there?"

"Yeah," Henry nodded, joining her. "Be careful with this one. It likes to circle around from behind before attacking. It seems to use its tail like a flail too."

"A physical attack then," Angewomon nodded. Linking her hands together, she stretched them out and her knuckles gave a loud crack. "I should be able to handle this."

_Hopefully,_ she added mentally. _I'm not armored after all._

With a powerful flap of her wings, the angel digimon rocketed into the air, soaring up toward Hypnos' roof.

**###**

Angewomon landed atop the Hypnos building just in time to see Growlmon collapse to the ground, his entire body pixilating as it threatened to break apart. The angel drew in a sharp breath at the mass of black that cut across his arm and up a full half of his face.

_Data scorching,_ Angewomon thought in horrified realization. _If we don't get him help soon…he'll die._

Unfortunately, the world conspired against her as a massive tiger with great wings loomed over the fallen reptile, fangs glistening in the red light from Hypnos' surrounding antennas, giving them a murderous completion. Sensing her arrival, the tiger – Mihiramon, if she remembered correctly – turned around and snarled at her.

"Nightmare Soldiers or Virus Busters; fire or angels," it growled, "The end result will be the same. However, I will offer a holy defender of the light such as yourself the opportunity – as a courtesy – to retreat, but this beast…"

Reaching with its claws, it pricked Growlmon's exposed injuries, earning a cry of pain from the fallen Champion.

"All Hazard digimon will be deleted. No exceptions."

Angewomon fitted a glowing, crackling arrow to her arm's bow string before she even knew she had moved, anger flashing through her in a sudden pulse.

"You're making one now," she growled before letting fly. _"Celestial Arrow!"_

It was a risky move attacking with her opponent so close to Growlmon, but there were simple too few fast options available to her that she felt she couldn't chance anything other than this course of action and have any certainty at saving Takato's partner. As she watched her arrow fly to her opponent, she whispered a prayer under her breath. It struck Mihiramon like a bolt of lightning, causing the Ultimate to jerk back with a howl of surprise. It only lasted for a moment however as its claws bit into the hard concrete, slowing itself to a standstill. A curl of electricity snaked around its body and it shook its head, more dazed than harmed by the impact.

_Why…?_ she began in shock, only to shake her head mentally. _Focus and think. He's heavily armored. Maybe if we attacked a weak point… Ugh. This isn't going to end easy or fast._

She glanced over at Growlmon, trying to think of a way to get him out of here rather than engage in a long, drawn out fight that he would likely die during, but before she knew it, the tiger _pounced,_ its tail transforming into a nunchaku before slamming into her side with ferocious force.

Pain exploded across her vision as she collapsed to one knee, a digital rib cracking from the blow. Mihiramon scoffed at her as he prepared to strike again, tail flicking about.

"I expected better from one such as you," the Deva said in disgust. "No matter. Your part here ends now. _Samurai Tiger Tail!"_

Whirling about once more, the Deva swung its tail at the angel digimon, aiming for a solid blow to her head.

**###**

_"Stupid!"_ Takeru shouted, pounding his frustrations into a tree before leaning against it."They were _all_ stupid! The digital world should never have allowed _children_ to _interact_ with digimon! What were they thinking?!"

Rage pounded in his heart as his fingers curled against the tree bark, the rough 'skin' biting into his skin. Everything… _Everything_ had become undone. The digital world, once _again,_ leapt beyond humanities ability to deal with it; to contain and control it. To prevent _another_ disaster from happening that would only lead to _more_ deaths of humans and digimon alike.

_I told Gennai that there was only one way to win… But he was too convinced about the prophecy… Too convinced that we could_ never _permanently defeat the forces of Darkness… People like him can_ never _effect change when they lack the will to do it! I…_

"Takeru…?"

Spinning around at the voice from behind, his eyes fell on Kari as she approached him, one hand holding her digivice close to her chest. She was garbed in black and white, an odd choice of colors for her, but he quickly brushed it off. With an effort, he composed himself and clutched his fists together tightly.

"Ms. Kamiya," he nodded curtly, barely restraining the tension in his voice. "You shouldn't be here. This area should be under lockdown."

Kari scowled at this as she drew to a halt scarcely more than six feet away from him.

"Well, it wasn't," she said with an annoyed tone. "Fact is, it doesn't look like _anything_ is going on to protect anyone right now. All I see is _you_ out here hitting trees and a strange light around _your_ building. Neither seems to be doing a whole lot of good. What's going on up there? The sky…" She glanced over her shoulder in the direction of the Hypnos building. "I don't remember seeing anything like that since the War."

"Rest assured, we are working to get the situation under control," Takeru frowned. "We do not need schoolteachers to fight battles on behalf of the world. You should go home and watch the news for further developments."

His eyes met Kari's levelly. "You're not a soldier anymore, Kari Kamiya. Remember that."

Kari's face went dark at that, and at once the shadows surrounding them almost seemed to _deepen._ Clearly a line had been crossed, and it was a _big_ one.

_"Not_ this again!" she growled. "TK, I've had it about up to _here_ with this! With… With _all_ of this! You came to me _how_ long ago to let me know about a Prophecy about Takato and his friends and you don't want me involved?! He's my _student!_ It's my job to _worry_ about him on a daily basis! And it's _more_ than just a job to me! _Much_ more! You used to understand this and now… I just…I don't even _know_ you anymore! You _and_ my brother! You've cut us out of your life. You cut _me_ out of your life, and Tai… _Tai_ is out there doing _who knows what_ and he refuses to come home for some reason! Fifteen years! _Fifteen years!"_

A black miasma began to grow around Kari, causing Takeru's eyes to widen at the sight of it coiling around her like a serpent, and he suddenly went rigid, memories of a darker time returning to hit him full force.

"Light and Hope…" Kari breathed angrily. "That's what we used to be, but that's a joke now. We're more like _Darkness and Despair…"_

The darkness rose up and then, with a sudden burst of light from her chest, shattered. Kari wavered on her feet, as though she were a marionet whose strings had been abruptly cut, and then fell forward. Acting on instinct, Takeru ran forward and caught her before she could fall far, and gently laid her on the ground. As he did so, a light shone down above him and the sound of helicopter blades – a ride he called in minutes before Kari's arrival – could be heard above him.

_"Mr. Takaishi,"_ spoke up a voice from the wireless earpiece he wore. _"We have a visual on you and are sending down a ladder."_

Tapping the earpiece, he looked up at the light.

"There's been a change of plans."

**###**

Angewomon caught Mihiramon's tail-attack with her hand, rocking on her heels as the impact swept over her with a tremendous, explosive shockwave. In spite of the pain screaming from her ribs, she remained undaunted, and flapping her wings she rose up with a sudden burst of speed. Spinning on her feet she yanked the tiger's tail, swinging him around in a complete circle before letting it go, sending the tiger careening through the air, its wings flapping wildly in a desperate attempt to stabilize itself.

A perfect setup.

The wings on her gloved arm grew and expanded with her left hand. Raising her right, energy crackled and she formed an arrow of light once more. Setting it to string, she took aim, ignoring the pain in her side.

_"Celestial Arrow!"_ she called out, before loosing her attack. Just as before, it struck true, and Mihiramon howled as it crashed to the rooftop. Electricity crackled around its body, but it quickly rose back up, blood-red eyes glaring viciously at her. Angewomon _tsked,_ not pleased that her attack _again_ didn't show much in the way of effectiveness.

_Not good,_ Angewomon starting to realize why her attack wasn't working as well as she hoped it would. _A data type… My attacks are most effective against Dark digimon, and he's clearly not that. I'm going to have to ramp up the power to do anything to this guy._

Extending her arms forward and clasping her hands together, she gathered power in her palms. As the energy swelled, she slashed it to the side, and a violet, cross-shaped blade of energy formed in front of her, taking deadly aim at Mihiramon.

_"Heaven's Charm!"_ she shouted, and her attack plowed forward at a rapid pace. As fast as she was however, Mihiramon proved to be the faster, deftly dodging the _Heaven's Charm_ before diving in, slamming into Angewomon's stomach. She cried out in pain this time as she hit the roof, her broken digital ribs grinding against one another. Mihiramon's claws slashed out, seeking to rend and to tear… Only to find concrete as Gatomon found herself suddenly becoming shorter with an unexpected flash of light.

_Wha…?_ she thought in bewilderment, no less so than Mihiramon as it drew back, startled. Taking no time to sort out the why of her reverse-digivolution, Gatomon merely adapted to the situation, backflipping onto her feet before pouncing forward. Her ribs, healed now from the reordering of her data now no longer a distraction, she put full use to her new nimbleness and slammed her gloved fist into Mihiramon's jaw, causing one of his fangs to crack and then shatter as the Deva cried out in surprise.

Not stopping to pause, she kicked up with a foot, slamming it into the tiger's jaw. Her tail-ring glowed brightly as she drew deeply on its power. However, Mihiramon, in spite of the ferocity of her attacks and the power behind them, only barely rocked and was soon counterattacking back, slashing and snapping at her. Its tail, again taking on its nunchaku appearance, lashed out, striking the roof and causing a spider web of cracks to spread across its surface.

_Kari…_ she thought desperately. _I need your help! What's going on? Are you in danger?_

Gatomon didn't have time to contemplate any further on the matter before she found herself dodging Mihiramon once again.

**###**

_When Takato next opened his eyes, he found himself in a space of violet and ticking clocks, their black hands spinning around endlessly._

_"Is this a dream?"_ _he asked aloud, only to grimace as he felt a dull, painful throbbing in his arm. Looking down, he didn't see any sign of injury, yet there was pain nonetheless. Worse, it felt like there was an even deeper well of hurt behind it._

_"When Growlmon got bit on the shoulder, I felt it too…" he said to himself. "But…why am I feeling pain when Growlmon's the one who got hurt?"_

_He bit back a gasp as the throbbing crept up along his arm, hot and swollen. He attempted to flex his hand, and the fingers moved stiffly, slow to respond._

Growlmon… _he thought bitterly, biting his lower lip. His partner… He was hurting. Hurting badly._

Are you okay…boy…? Where are you…?

_"Tamer…"_

_Turning at the sound of the voice, Takato's eyes grew wide as he found Growlmon standing amidst a cloud of clocks, half his face and one arm shrouded in black. The boy's eyes grew wet upon seeing his partner's injuries. His arm pulsed, throbbing at the sight._

_"Tamer… I did my best…" Growlmon continued._

_"Growlmon! You're alive!" Takato exclaimed, only to hesitate, clutching all the tighter at his arm. "But…we still lost."_

Our best? _he thought bitterly._ What good is our best when we were beaten?

_"It's not over yet," Growlmon replied. "You've got to let me fight again. So we made a couple mistakes. No big deal. I know I can take him, but I really need your help this time!"_

_The Champion's gold-colored eyes met Takato's, and for an instant, Takato felt as though his partner were boring into his soul._

_"Are you in?" the dinosaur asked. "Takato… I need you."_

_Takato jerked as his mind flashed back to Rika and Henry, both cradling their injured partners. He felt a great ocean of hesitation well up within him, and tears came unbidden to his eyes._

_"But I'm…not worthy," he choked out. "It's…all my fault!"_

_He thought of their conversation on the playground. How foolish he had been to think that his worries had been left behind then._

I haven't grown a bit as a Tamer! That's why you got hurt!

_Clocks were spinning around Takato at a rapid pace now as he clutched at the sides of his head, hating himself for the hesitation and fear he felt inside him. That fear and hesitation that caused Growlmon's injuries. Yet…his partner was here…still willing to fight. Still willing to accept him…as long as he was willing to get up and fight again and stand by him._

_"You wouldn't have gotten hurt if it wasn't for me! I've been a coward Growlmon, and I'm so sorry! But if you're really willing to give me one more chance, than I have no choice but to take it! Growlmon!"_

_Tearing his hands away from his head, he stretched out toward his partner. Clocks sped by him at a rapid pace, but Growlmon appeared to remain as far away as he had been when he first appeared in this forest of clocks. Yet Takato stretched further toward him, refusing to let the distance keep them apart._

_Growlmon's eyes widened at his partner's sudden burst of courage. He could feel the force of his love for him, burning like a hot fire._

_"Takato!"_

_"We will fight! One more time…_ together!"

Takato snapped awake with a scream, still reaching out for Growlmon. His hands clasped hold of Rika's as she reached out for him, startled by his unexpected shout. Next to her, Calumon, who had wandered in following his escape from Impmon, blinked in surprise of his own at Takato's explosion.

"Takato! Hey! _Takato!"_ Rika exclaimed, grabbing hold of the boy's shoulder and giving him a hard shake. "Take it easy! You're all right!"

Takato blinked as their eyes met, neither yet seeing that their hands were clasped so tightly around one another that their knuckles had gone white. Takato's lips parted slightly, taken aback by the wave of emotion in the girl's eyes, not used to seeing it directed at him.

"Rika…"

The girl's hand tightened even further around his in response, causing the boy to grunt in pain. Realizing for the first time the intertwining of their fingers, Rika twitched and quickly disentangled them, a light blush coloring her face. Takato felt the same burning his cheeks as their hands parted, not understanding what was going on or what he had just seen in Rika's eyes. Turning away from the girl in embarrassment, he looked over at Calumon questioningly, curious about why he was here.

"Uh… Hi Calumon."

His ears expanding happily at now being the center of attention, Calumon tilted his head to one side and giggled.

"Did anyone ever tell you, you talk in your sleep?"

"Welcome back!" Henry greeted, grateful at seeing their friend awake once more. "How're you feeling?"

"Um…" Takato began, only for Rika's voice to break in as well as she leaned forward, her hand coming to rest on his shoulder where she had gripped him earlier, giving it a softer squeeze.

"What a wuss! I can't believe you fainted!" she said in an attempt to sound like she was berating him, but she sounded so greatly relieved that it ruined the effect. "You had us all worried!"

Takato gave an embarrassed laugh at that, but the sound of explosions and weapons fire quickly drowned it out and brought everyone's attention back to the matter at hand. Looking up, they saw three helicopters hovering over Hypnos, red lasers illuminated by the digital field raining down on their target. There was a sudden explosion and then the helicopters swung around. Clenching his fist, Henry rose to his feet, looking darkly at the scene.

"Guns and lasers won't stop him. It'll take something a lot stronger than that!"

"Brilliant Einstein," Rika scoffed, turning to the half-Chinese Tamer. "What do _you_ suggest? Even Growlmon crumbled. Like a stupid ragdoll! We can't help Angewomon. Unless another Digidestined shows up, she's going to be on her own without them up there."

"Unless they're shooting at her too…" Terriermon pointed out with a groan. "Man… Where _is_ Ken? Shouldn't he and Davis be here by now?"

"Who knows?" Rika _harrumphed._ "Either way, what can we do? All of our partners have lost."

"We haven't lost yet!" Takato grated, forcing himself up onto his knees with a struggle as his friends turned to look at him in surprise. His shoulder groaned, protesting the motion, but he pushed through the pain, ignoring it. Clenching his teeth, Takato took a deep breath.

"We can't afford to lose anymore…" he continued firmly in spite of his body's painful trembling. "Not Growlmon…" His fingers scrabbled around, searching for his digivice. Grasping it, a glow began to emerge on the screen. "…and not _me!_ Growlmon is still willing to fight! And as long as I'm still breathing…I'll be _right there_ by his side!"

His other hand found a card – the cards he held from his combat deck, having fallen to the ground when he collapsed – and a red light began to glow at its center, quickly spreading outward and enveloping the whole of the card. A heart-shaped symbol formed along its surface, pulsing brightly.

"We can't allow ourselves to think that we'll lose!" Takato continued with growing strength. He barely felt any pain in his shoulder anymore. "A Tamer must _never_ show weakness! So are you guys ready? Because we're going to do this even if you're not!"

"A… _crest!"_ Henry breathed, his eyes narrowing to block out the intensity of the light emanating from the card. "It's on a _card!"_

Rika watched the boy with wide eyes, surprised at his sudden attitude and the glowing of the crest. _Again,_ he was doing something she didn't expect, yet, in spite of herself, she felt strangely calm. She felt the strangest sense that the words Takato said, he not only _meant,_ he would make into a _reality._

"Okay," she said, a gust of wind blowing over the three Tamers. "I'm with you."

"That's more like it!" Takato exclaimed, climbing to his feet. Power surged within him, and as he raised his card-crest into the air, he remembered the motto of the Digidestined from the War. A motto that stood the test of time ever since.

_As long as a Digidestined still stands…the fight isn't over!_

_No… It's not over. In fact…_

_"This battle has only just begun!"_ he exclaimed, slashing the crest through his digivice. _"Digi-modify! Matrix Digivolution!"_

And all the while, Calumon, who had been looking on, suddenly clenched up and bowed his head in surprise, the red triangle on his forehead glowing…

**###**

Growlmon's remaining eye shot open as he felt a sudden surge of power flowing through him, and a shell of data materialized around his body. Lines of power struck him from within it, repairing the burned-out data from Mihiramon's earlier attack and causing him to grow to _enormous_ proportions, dwarfing Mihiramon with ease. Thick, heavy plates materialized around his chest, surrounding a twinset of energy cannons connected to a Hazard sign. Armor expanded over Growlmon's arms and adding thick, heavy metal blades on the forearms, and steel covered his lower jaw. With a deafening explosion, WarGrowlmon slashed his blades apart, revealing himself for the first time since the battle at Okinawa. His eyes set themselves on Mihiramon, who paused in his chasing of an exhausted Gatomon, who stood crouched in a combat stance, breathing heavily. With a menacing growl, the giant cyborg reptile took a heavy step toward the Deva…and then another.

_"What?!"_ Mihiramon exclaimed angrily before WarGrowlmon took a powerful swipe at it, forcing the tiger to jump back in shock.

_"What's going on?!"_ Mihiramon demanded angrily as WarGrowlmon emerged from the smoke, thrusters blasting it away as he did so. Snorting, Mihiramon crouched down, tail flicking behind it before hardening back into its nunchaku.

"Nice presentation," it mocked. "But _no one_ beats Mihiramon! _Samurai Tiger Tail!"_

Swinging itself around, it immediately began to rain a series of devastating blows upon the Ultimate. WarGrowlmon struggled to block the incoming attacks, but some found their way through, striking his stomach, his face and his arms… He could scarcely keep up with them.

_Takato…_

**###**

Takato crashed to one knee as pain once again exploded across his body. His face…arms… Stomach… All of it, and repeatedly. His vision blurred, and for an instant, he teetered once more on the edges of consciousness before clawing his way back to the world of the living, clutching at himself as he fought to retain some measure of clear thoughts.

"W…What's wrong?" he heard Henry ask, fear finding its way into his voice again. Clenching his eyes shut, he took a deep breath just as his ribs groaned from another impact, causing him to cough

"Are you okay?" Rika asked, seeing this. _Is the feedback_ really _this bad for him?_

In her chest, she felt her heart squeeze painfully, thinking about what might have happened if she had succeeded in killing Guilmon all those weeks ago.

_…killed him…_ she thought with horrified realization. _I definitely could have killed him…_

"I feel every hit…" Takato gasped harshly, struggling back to his feet. Pushing through the cloud of pain that threatened to envelop his mind, he turned his gaze back up to the towers standing over them, his face setting itself in determination.

"All right! That's enough!"

_Just what is_ with _this kid?!_ Rika wondered, her eyes growing again. _How is he_ doing _this?!_

**###**

Gatomon nearly collapsed to her knees when she saw WarGrowlmon emerge from the smoke, the pace of the battle finally taking its toll on her. She struggled to watch, Mihiramon's attacks on the cyborg Ultimate almost being too fast for her to follow. She wanted to do something… Help, even if it meant playing at least a distraction, but she found that she no longer quite had the strength to manage that just yet. This breather she needed _desperately._

_Sorry, WarGrowlmon,_ she thought before her eyes widened, seeing Mihiramon beginning to change tactics.

"So, you want to play with the kitty, huh?" the Deva mocked, swinging its tail around again. Light enveloped it and the tip morphed, becoming a giant, jagged spike.

_"Armored Tiger Tail!"_

_"Right! Time to take the tiger by the tail! Let's do this…together!"_ WarGrowlmon heard a voice echoing from the depths of his mind. A voice that sounded like Takato. Sensing his partner's motivation, the cyborg braced himself to receive the attack. The spiked nunchaku sped toward him, aiming directly at his exposed abdomen…

…and WarGrowlmon caught it between his claws.

_"As your Tamer…I say…finish it!"_

"Well, if you say so… _Tamer!"_ WarGrowlmon grunted. Adjusting his grip on Mihiramon's tail, he first pushed back, and then _pulled_ again, drawing the tiger Deva in close for the kill. The twin cannons built into his chest armor began to glow, and the dinosaur took aim.

"You've been a _very naughty kitty!"_ he shouted, the crimson light in his cannons reaching their maximum output. He felt Takato's heart beating in time with his core, and their words began to echo one another's.

_"Atomic…_ Blaster!"

The twin blasts rocketed out and slammed into Mihiramon, enveloping its body as it screamed horribly.

_"Fool! You and your humans! Digimon could've had supreme power over both worlds! But you had to ruin_ everything!"

With a final cry of agony, Mihiramon's body broke apart, and the stream of crimson energy emanating from WarGrowlmon split across the sky, ripping through the aura of blue light that surrounded the Hypnos building, destroying it utterly.

**###**

Makuramon scowled as he watched the data of his comrade in arms float aimlessly away into the sky. With an exasperated groan, he stood up from his perch on a nearby rooftop and summoned an orb to him. Quickly recording a message, he flung it into the tear in the sky just as it was sealing up.

_So much for Mihiramon,_ he thought. _The fool. Hopefully the others will remember his lesson and not displease the Sovereign as he did. Makaaa… I should have deleted that human child when I had the chance._ _But…the Sovereign commands, and we move at his behest._

Beneath the twinkling, star-filled twilight, Makuramon sat himself back down to observe the fallout of the battle as WarGrowlmon bellowed his triumph to the heavens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The scene where Takato grabs Rika's hand instead of Calumon's is a shout out to my friend, Ruki44 for continuing to put up with me and encouraging me even after all these years and draws its inspiration from their crackfic, Digimon Tamers: Rika's Story.Thanks again, Ruki44, for your support and friendship and urging me to write ideas. This story wouldn't exist without you, so this one's for you. :)


	94. Interlude 11: The Darkness before Dawn

Cards strewn about on the floor, Kazu leaned against the wall of the hard, dinosaur hut on the playground, staring up at the ceiling, his eyes in deep thought. Next to him, the soft glow of Kenta's toy digivice illuminated the hut, the boy _finally_ deciding to drop the pretense of not playing anything digimon related once the cards were broken out. Surprisingly, Kazu had been the one to do the deed, grunting that he just wanted to have a look at them, and that much of his words were kept, as no games were played.

Now, after making numerous noises of frustration, he sat now, listening to the report of Kenta's toy digivice, _beeping_ and _booping_ as he fed the fake digimon within. Kazu grimaced mentally, but said nothing, though it conjured up images of Takato's made-up digimon, and the glowing yellow eyes behind the snarl that had sent him and Kenta tearing off into the depths of the park.

"Hey Kazu?" Kenta began, pausing in the middle of feeding MarineAngemon, his eyes turning toward him.

"What?" Kazu replied in an annoyed tone, wishing that his friend didn't break him out of his reverie over every little thing that came to mind.

"About Takato…" Kenta continued, his dark eyes searching Kazu's face carefully. "Are you jealous that he's a Tamer?"

"Huh?" Kazu snorted derisively before ducking his head away. "Me jealous of him?"

_As if…_ he tried to tell himself, yet his friend's words rang true in his heart. To think that of _all_ people it was _Chumley,_ a kid who tripped over his words as readily as he tripped over his own feet – who couldn't even hold his own in a simple card game – who got to be a Tamer, and a Tamer to a digimon _he made up…_ And then to rub it in their faces as though it somehow separated them. Made him somehow _better_ than his friends… It did grind his gears a little.

_Why's he get to be so lucky?_ he thought. _I train my butt off to be a Tamer! Why's he get to be a Tamer and not me? Why's he get to have a partner that he makes himself? It's not fair!_

He wanted to say that Takato deserved getting ditched by himself and Kenta at the playground for his attitude, but seeing the hurt look on his friend's face when they dumped on their favorite hobby…not to mention the way he sounded…

Before he could pursue that line of thought any further, Kazu saw a bright glow just over the tree line and he gave a start, realizing that it was a thick, heavy fog bank of light that hung over the Shinjuku government building.

"Whoa! What is that?"

Climbing to his feet, he pointed it out to Kenta, who's eyebrows shot up first in confusion, and then in stunned amazement. No sooner did the dark-haired boy join his taller friend, a loud crash of thunder could be heard in the direction of the blue fog.

"Is it a digital field?" Kenta asked, adjusting his glasses. Kazu narrowed his eyes. It didn't _look_ like any digital field he heard of before.

_Certainly not any that looked blue,_ he thought before impulsively taking off in the direction of the Shinjuku government building, causing Kenta's mouth to drop in surprise.

"Ah! Kazu! Hey, wait up! What are you doing?!"

"What's it look like I'm doing?" Kazu shouted over his shoulder. "Takato's going to be there! I'm not missing a chance to make fun of him when he messes things up!"

Kenta arched an eyebrow at this but for the present he couldn't comment in response, being too focused on pushing his legs as hard as they could in order to keep pace with his friend. As they drew near to the scene, the sound of explosions and the roar of the combatants could be heard echoing upon the air.

**###**

Jeri's legs burned as she raced down the sidewalk, her eyes focused on the Shinjuku government building. Thoughts of Takato and Guilmon beat alongside the panicked drumming of her heart as a resounding roar of combat tore across the sky.

_How… How can they do this?_ Jeri wondered, realizing for the first time what being a Tamer entailed. _It…It sounds so scary. They're risking their lives up there…fighting…_

An image of her mother flashed through her mind, and Jeri, with an effort, forced it away. This was not the time to be thinking of such things…

Clutching the box of cards closer to her chest, Jeri ignored the exhaustion digging into her body and pushed it all the harder. If she could just find Takato…

With a final roar and a crash of thunder, the blue light surrounding the Shinjuku government building broke suddenly, and a quiet fell over city. Breaking through the park, Jeri ground to a halt, gasping heavily, straining her ears for some sign of what was going on.

_Is it… Is it over?_ she wondered, her eyes falling on the Shinjuku government building just in time to see a massive shadow fall over it. Fear erupted in her heart for half a second before she found the shadow's owner; a large, heavily armored digimon with crimson scales and gold-colored eyes that, despite how serious they looked, were all too familiar. Thin struts extended from the heavy, armored plating surrounding his chest shot out white hot fire, slowing his descent.

_He digivolved…_ Jeri's mind whispered.

"Awesome!"

"That is one, big digimon!"

Turning away from the sight of Guilmon in his digivolved form, she saw Kazu and Kenta, watching the whole thing with excitement. Swallowing so as to slow her exhausted breathing, she stepped toward them before her eyes drew back up to Guilmon.

"Is that giant thing really Guilmon?" she asked, her amber eyes wide at the sight of the giant beast of a digimon as it finally touched down, the ground shaking ever so slightly beneath its feet. She couldn't believe how huge the difference was, and not just in terms of height. Guilmon – or whatever he was called now – looked so…savage. More like a war machine than the cute, cuddly, dinosaur she met in the park.

Yet, despite how scary he looked, somehow, she didn't feel scared in the least. It was like a knight putting on armor and carrying a sword. Guilmon simply put on those things to defend the city with. She was sure that he was still the same Guilmon on the inside.

In front of her, Kazu glanced over his shoulder and smirked upon seeing her.

"Amateur," he snorted in amusement. "That's Guilmon after digivolving to his Ultimate level!"

_He…could become something like that…?_ she thought in amazement, clutching Takato's box of cards closer to her before looking around the crowd worriedly

"Uh… Did Takato leave?" she asked.

"No way!" Kenta exclaimed, pointing in the direction of WarGrowlmon. "A real Tamer never leaves his digimon!"

Following the boy's extended finger, she spied the boy in question as the giant, crimson digimon as he knelt down on one knee, causing the earth to shake again as his weight came to rest upon its surface and lowered a gleaming, metal claw. As though this were a signal, Takato rushed forward and embraced WarGrowlmon's extended claw, burying his face into its hard surface.

Cupping his hands together, Kazu grinned.

"You were pretty cool out there, Chumley!" he shouted, though the boy didn't seem to hear them. A small smile broke across Jeri's face, and she hugged his card box all the more tightly, warm affection beating in her heart.

"And cute," she said, her eyes shimmering, causing Kazu and Kenta to turn on her with looks of disgust.

"Ew, yuck!" the two boys exclaimed as one. Thumbing the ridge of his visor, Kazu grunted.

"Come on, Kenta. Let's get over there before Jeri starts drooling over him or something."

Before either Kenta or Jeri could say anything in response to that, the taller boy immediately set off at a rapid pace. Hugging the box again, Jeri hurried on after him, her eyes set solely on Takato as he continued to embrace his partner's metal claw. The expression on his face was, much to her surprise, one of tearful relief, rather than the triumph that she would have seen from Kazu, or when he crowed victory in gym class after getting just over three meters in a jump.

_He must have been so worried about Guilmon,_ she thought, feeling her heart beat just a little harder, wondering what it must have been like for him, seeing his partner involved in such a fight.

_I know I would have been pretty scared. How…How does he do it?_

As she watched, WarGrowlmon knelt down, looking at the smaller boy.

"Takatomon…" she heard WarGrowlmon say in a hushed voice, causing the boy to blink and look up at his partner.

"Huh?"

"You _are_ worthy… _Tamer,"_ WarGrowlmon continued with surprising gentleness. "Thank you, for fighting by my side."

As Jeri, Kazu and Kenta drew to a halt, she wondered what it was that WarGrowlmon meant.

Takato gazed up at his partner for a moment longer before clenching his fists together.

"I…didn't do anything," he replied, trembling slightly as tears came unbidden to his eyes. Clutching at WarGrowlmon's claw again, he brought his face to rest against it, "but…trust you. And I guess…myself."

"Takato…" WarGrowlmon whispered, tears starting to spill out from his golden eyes as he gazed down at his partner. Jeri felt herself becoming awash with emotion at the sight of their bond, naked and out in the open. Her heart skipped a beat as she hugged the box closer to her.

**###**

Rika's fingers dug into her arms as she held them over her chest, watching the goggle-wearing boy as he stood there, holding his partner. The scene looked all together ridiculous. He _won!_ He pulled through, and yet here he stood, blubbering like a child instead of a Tamer.

Yet, in spite of herself, she found that she couldn't berate him for that. Not after everything she went through with Renamon. Instead, much to her own surprise, she approached the boy and placed a hand on his shoulder, giving it an unconscious squeeze as the boy turned toward him with surprised eyes. Almost instantly, Rika felt something rise up inside her, a squirrely tension that threatened to make her retreat, yet…she fought through it, and within short order, the knots in her stomach receded.

For the moment, anyway.

"Hey," she said softly. "Are you okay? That… _thing_ that happened earlier…"

She trailed off, but it didn't take much for Takato to know what she referred to. Having experienced it himself, it would have been impossible for him to _not_ know.

"Oh yeah," Takato replied with a shaky laugh, wiping at his eyes. "It's just… We're going to need a _lot_ more peanut butter."

In spite of herself, Rika felt a small smile tug at the corner of her lips at that. A part of her was glad that he was bouncing back, but another part couldn't help but worry. His deep connection with Guilmon was unprecedented as far as she knew, and thoughts about their disastrous first meetings where she attempted to load the hapless dinosaur continued to pervade her heart.

"Before you get too set on raiding _another_ cafeteria," came the voice of Gatomon, tumbling down from WarGrowlmon's shoulder and landing gracefully upon the ground. "Have any of you seen Kari?"

"Ah…" Separating from WarGrowlmon's claw, Takato cocked his head to one side questioningly. "No? I mean, she hasn't shown up or anything. She was coming here?"

"She was most definitely on her way here," Gatomon nodded before glancing off to the side with a dark scowl. "She wasn't too far either. Just in the park. She should have been here by now. Unless…"

At the tone in the feline digimon's voice, Henry arched an eyebrow. Before he could speak however, Jeri's voice broke over him.

"Unless what?" she asked, stepping into view. "Is Ms. Kamiya in trouble?"

All eyes fell on her just then, realizing that she – alongside Kazu and Kenta – were all suddenly there. Gatomon felt her fur bristle in surprise, briefly wondering if _she_ played a role in whatever happened that caused her digivolution to short out.

_No…_ she berated herself, her claws curling into her paws. _It couldn't be. She's not some black cat just because of her mother._

WarGrowlmon lifted his head and sniffed the air. "I smell her. She was nearby, but she's not now."

"She's _what?!"_ Gatomon exclaimed, spinning around fearfully. _Not again! She couldn't have been taken again!_

The familiar sound of a metal clinking on metal caused Gatomon's ears and she turned to see Takeru emerge from the shadows.

"You…" she began, her azure eyes narrowing, her suspicions falling squarely on the former Digidestined of Hope.

Takeru flicked his lighter closed with a loud snap. "Hello, Gatomon. I was hoping to find you here."

"Who…? Mr. Takaishi!" Henry exclaimed as the Tamers' eyes turned in the direction. Seeing this man, a sense of anxiety began to grow in Jeri's heart and she inched closer protectively to Takato, feeling as though he and the others were in some sort of danger from him.

"What do you want, Takeru!" Gatomon seethed, clenching her fangs together. "What was it you were _doing_ up there?"

"I'm afraid that I can't tell you that," Takeru replied, flicking his lighter open. "However, a situation has developed with regards to your partner. It seems that she fainted from exhaustion. I had her transported to the hospital. If you like, I can take you there."

Gatomon narrowed her eyes at this, debating her options before stepping forward, forcing her claws to relax themselves.

"Where?" she asked. "Take me there."

Stepping aside, Takeru gestured with one hand behind him. "I have a car on its way."

"Hold on!" Takato exclaimed, starting forward. "Take us too! Ms. Kamiya our teacher! If she's…!"

"I'm afraid that won't be possible," Takeru interrupted, frowning beneath his sunglasses. "As things stand now, I would advise you to leave and return to your homes immediately while the government handles things from here."

"You mean cleaning up the mess _you_ caused I bet," Rika snorted under her breath, but Takeru had already turned his attention back toward Gatomon.

"If you could come this way…"

"Gatomon…" Takato began, taking a step forward, however the feline raised a claw, urging him to stop.

"Don't worry about it," she said, her eyes focusing on Takeru's darkly. "I have the feeling this needs to be a _private_ conversation anyway."

Looks were exchanged between the children, uncertain as to what to make of this unexpected secrecy from the feline.

"You'll…let us know if there's anything wrong…right?" Takato asked. Gatomon's tail swished in agitation.

"Sure," she replied, turning to meet the boy's gaze.

_You'll probably be needed in that case anyway,_ she thought before starting off with Takeru.

Takato watched the pair go for a moment before his shoulders finally sagged, all the tension running out of him in one mad rush.

"You okay?" Henry asked, approaching him.

"He said he was fine," Rika grunted, folding her arms over her chest once more. "He just experienced a littlefeedback from the fight. It's no big deal."

"No big deal doesn't exactly end up with someone passing out because they can feel their partner getting the heck beat out of him," Terriermon quipped from Henry's shoulder, having finally recovered enough to cling to the boy in his favorite spot. Rika narrowed her eyes at the rabbit-dog digimon, but before she could think of a proper comeback, Kazu was suddenly there, bowling into Takato and trapping his head into a tight lock between his arm.

"I don't _believe_ you!" the boy crowed. "How the heck did you get Guilmon up to Ultimate already? You couldn't have had your partner for that long!"

"Ah…!" Takato exclaimed, managing to break free. "Kazu! Uh… What…What are you…?"

"Doing here?" Kazu folded his arms together. "Chumley, there was this _huge_ digital field thing going on and you guys are fighting in one of the most public places in the city. Why _else_ would we be here? That and…" Unfolding his arms, Kazu suddenly became sheepish and began to rub his hand against the back of his head. "Um… You know… Stuff."

"He's trying to say he's sorry about being a jerk," Kenta chimed in, approaching from behind. "And I'm sorry too. We were both kind of out of line."

"Well, I did scare you when I had you meet Guilmon," Takato chuckled, holding out a hand. "So how about we just call it even and call it a day?"

"It's already night, Chumley," Kazu smirked, clasping Takato's hand in a companionable fashion.

"Um…" came Jeri's timid sounding voice as she approached now, box still cradled in her arms. "You…You left this at the park. I found them and…thought I'd give them to you the next chance I had. So…here you go."

Holding out the box, she smiled shyly and Takato accepted it, a surprised look painting his face before a light blush colored his face.

"Oh… _Oh!_ Yeah, I did forget them! T-Thanks, Jeri."

"I-It's no problem," the brunette smiled, folding her hands together in front of her, her own cheeks growing warm in the pale light of the city. Glancing back and forth between the pair, Rika narrowed her eyes, uncertain as to what to make of the strange feeling she felt at what she was seeing before finally settling on turning a hard look upon Takato.

"You _forgot_ your cards?" she said irritably, her earlier sympathy toward him shrinking rapidly. "Those cards are how you keep Dinoboy alive! You had _better_ take better care of them in the future or I'm going to make you wear them in place of your goggles, got it?"

"Ah!" Takato gasped in surprise at Rika's sudden ferocity. "Y-Yes ma'am! Understood! It won't happen again!"

"Whoa… Look at the drill sergeant," Kazu remarked, arching an eyebrow at the whole scene, his expression mirrored by both Kenta and Jeri as they surveyed the scene in front of them, wondering just who this girl was.

"Ah!" Takato laughed, rubbing the back of his head. "Right. Uh…everyone, this is Rika Nonaka. Digimon card champion, my teacher and..." He hesitated, glancing at Rika carefully before continuing. "…my friend and fellow Tamer."

"Digimon card champion?" Kazu asked, turning to Rika with an appraising eyebrow as Jeri's eyes widened. "She doesn't look so tough."

"Kazu…!"

Rika rolled her eyes and _harrumphed_ at Takato, ignoring his three other friends – _especially_ Kazu, who was rapidly proving to have a death wish by getting on her bad side. Before she or anyone could say anything else, there was a sudden flash of fiery light and then Birdramon flew into view from around the corner of the government building, Sora, Matt and Gabumon all seated on her feet and clinging to her ankles.

"Hey down there!" Sora called out, her red, flower printed dress blowing around her from the wind. "Sorry we're late! What's the situation?"

**###**

"Kari didn't just faint from exhaustion, did she?" Gatomon asked, the two of them finally seated in the privacy of Hypnos' limousine next to Takeru, her claws picking at the seat. Takeru flicked his lighter open before closing it with a loud snap.

"No," he replied. "No, I'm afraid it's not. It seems that the darkness within her has reasserted itself."

Gatomon pinned her ears back angrily at this. After _all_ these years of peace, _now_ was when it decided to make its return?

"I thought she was clean," she said. "You got rid of the Digi-egg of Darkness."

"Its effects remain in spite of everything that could be done," Takeru replied. "As you know, at the time we believed the Darkness could not be destroyed. Even its devices were indestructible to whatever we could do to them. Remember what Homeostasis told us? As long as there is light, there is also darkness. Every crest has its opposite twin, and they lie in all of us. Kari Kamiya never lost hers just because we disposed of the physical artifacts."

_"Kari!"_ Gatomon snapped. "You were her friend, _TK._ At least call her like you _used to."_

Takeru looked at her dispassionately before turning away.

"In either case, your partner is going to require close observation. For now, however, she is safe and out of danger. I have arranged for Mr. Kido to oversee her health and safety. He is one of those who are most familiar with her situation after all."

"As is Ken," Gatomon remarked. "He should know. He knows better than _any_ of us what she went through."

Takeru flicked his lighter open, his brow furrowing. "I will be in contact with him and brought in at the earliest opportunity," he replied.

Gatomon gazed at him for a moment before nodding. "Thank you," she said. "Takeru… What _happened_ tonight? What's going on?"

"Unfortunately, that is classified information," the blond-haired head of Hypnos replied, snapping his lighter shut. "If I were to tell you, I would have to place you under arrest."

Turning to Gatomon, his shades gleamed from the light of the passing city. "I can assure you, Champion level or not; tail ring or not, I can make good on that promise. So do not press this point any further."

Narrowing her eyes dangerously, Gatomon made a point of growling at her former teammate.

"Thanks for the warning," she returned. "I'll be sure to remember it."


	95. Interlude 12: After the Battle

Slowly, ever so slowly, DemiVeemon opened his eyes, finding himself suspended in a clear fluid inside a massive tank. Light filtered down from above, and all around him he was surrounded by columns of nob-like protrusions. It didn't take him long to determine where he was.

_Definitely not the Dark Ocean, that's for sure,_ he thought, attempting to angle himself, only to find that he couldn't move at all. It was then that he became aware of a sensation like an electrical current running through him, and he shuddered. Hypnos. Memory came back to him and he grimaced painfully, remembering the stun baton he had been struck with. He was most definitely in Hypnos.

_Well… That's just great. Davis… I hope he and the others are doing okay. Well… Ken and Wormmon would be. Davis… Out of shape or not, he's still going to find a way to get into trouble._

He struggled to move again, but the electromagnetic bonds that held him in place remained firm and impossible to fight against. Resigning himself to his fate for the time being, he hung there, gazing at the boring wall, wishing that there was something more to do.

_If Takeru is going to be kidnapping his friends, the least he could do is put on some TV to watch…_

Suddenly the light above him winked out of existence causing DemiVeemon to fall even further into despair as his vision was plunged into darkness. Only for a moment however, as he quickly found that the electrical buzz in his body began to subside almost immediately. It remained, but it was massively dialed back.

_Can I…?_ He twitched his tiny limbs and grinned at their response. _Yes! I can move again!_

It wasn't much, but it was _something,_ and every little bit he counted to be better than the nothing he had earlier. Swimming awkwardly – his body not being built for aquatic life – he pushed himself upward. Up and up, until…finally, he broke through the surface with a gasp for air. He could hear the sounds of technicians hurrying about, shouting at each other, and flashlights rebounded all over the walls, chasing away shadows. Realizing that none of it was focused on him for the time being, he swam along until he reached the wall of the vat, only for his mouth to fall open in horror, realizing that it was too high and he possessed no means by which to climb.

"No…" he whispered in despair, only for a voice to break across his own.

_"Sticky Net!"_

As the name implied, a sticky web of silk hit DemiVeemon and the next thing he knew, he was hauled up and out of the vat by Wormmon. Upon setting the blue-scaled digimon down, the larval digimon proceeded to shred the webbing. DemiVeemon noticed that he was wet as well.

"Hey Wormmon," he gasped as the last of the webbing was shorn away. "Glad to see you're doing okay."

The insect raised a claw to his jaws, shushing him. "This way," he whispered. "We've got to get out of here before someone notices that we're loose."

DemiVeemon nodded and quickly the pair bounced down the metal gangway until they reached a ventilation shaft. Shooting out another thread of silk, Wormmon climbed up and, with considerable effort, pried off the vent, gaining entrance for the two diminutive digimon. Without a further word between them, they both snuck inside and Wormmon placed the vent opening back on, using his silk to stick it into place. In the shadows, it would go unnoticed until the power came back on.

_Hopefully that will be enough time,_ Wormmon thought.

"There," he said, turning back around. "Let's go."

"Are we going to find Davis and Ken?" DemiVeemon asked. Wormmon became uncertain, but he nodded.

"If we can find them quickly, sure," he replied. "I don't know where they are though, and I don't think Takeru would leave them on the same level as us."

DemiVeemon could only nod at that. It made sense, even to him, given that they had been arrested. Anything that kept the partners apart from each other was a 'smart idea' for those who did the imprisoning.

He didn't like that Wormmon implied that if they couldn't find their partners soon that they would have to leave them behind, but he understood it. They were the only ones who knew what happened.

_If we get caught again, we'll have wasted our luck._

"Leave the tracking to me," DemiVeemon grinned. "Davis has a particular smell that I can pick out anywhere. I don't know if it's because of his cologne or all those years of eating ramen have become a part of him, but believe me when I say there's no mistaking it for anything else."

"Can you pick it up now?" Wormmon asked. DemiVeemon sniffed the air tentatively before shaking his head, scowling.

"Not yet. We'd better get a move o… _Whoa!"_

DemiVeemon shouted in surprise as the building shook violently all of a sudden. They could hear the startled cries of the technicians from outside – faint and distant. The heads of the two digimon snapped up, their senses screaming in warning.

"A digimon…" Wormmon said. "A _big_ one!"

"We've got to find Davis and Ken, _fast!"_ DemiVeemon shouted, starting to panic as the tightness and darkness of his surroundings began to call up memories from the war. All at once, he recalled the claustrophobia of his many battles against the entities of the Dark Ocean. The claustrophobia of the many bodies piling atop him; the sweaty desperation as he hacked and punched and blasted his way through… And then…a building collapsing on top of him…pinning him to the ground with the fire and dust…

His breath coming out in harsher gasps now, he doubled over and clenched his eyes shut tightly, trying to work his way through the panic.

"Steady, steady…" Wormmon eased, placing a calming claw on his companion's back. "Let's not lose our heads here and start using your nose. If you can find Davis, find him. Focus on that, okay? We can work out what's going on outside once we do that."

DemiVeemon took a steady, deep breath and then nodded. "Okay," he said, wiping at his nose. He was shaking a little, the memories from the war rising up from his memories becoming as ghosts; still holding a presence in his mind, but it all fell back. He pressed his little stumps of arms against the cold steel of the ventilation shaft, finding comfort in it despite the shudder from up top.

"Are you sure?" Wormmon asked, glancing back over his shoulder, wondering if they should chance the outside right now. DemiVeemon nodded and sniffed the air.

"Yeah. Come on. Let's find Davis!"

With nothing more to be said, the diminutive digimon began to move on, the metal of the shaft flexing and creaking loudly from his weight. Crawling along after him, Wormmon scowled.

"We're putting you on a diet when this is over," he said accusingly.

The shaking of the building continued as the two digimon went, and the power cut in and out, fluctuating randomly. DemiVeemon did his best to pay it no mind, trying to ignore the weight of the building laying overhead.

_D-Davis…_ he thought, keeping his partner's face in his mind as he strove on. Sweat began to crawl down his face, and the beating of his digi-core increased in intensity.

_Come on… It's just like being luggage at an airport. Just…Just like being in the digimon section of the plane. Don't…Don't freak out when Davis needs you!_

As if to mock him for his growing panic, he felt the building shake again, this time much more violently than before and at once DemiVeemon felt his struggle to retain his confidence shatter in one go, leaving him frozen in place, his digital lungs panting madly.

"DemiVeemon!" Wormmon called. "What's going on?"

"F-Frozen…" he whispered, his breath coming out in sharp, painful gasps. His vision, already dark from the lack of light, went black completely. "I…I can't move! I can't…"

Thinking quickly, Wormmon squeezed around his companion and proceeded to spit out strands of silk, tying them around his friend.

"Don't worry. I'll do the moving for the both of us. Where to next?"

"I…I…" Clenching his eyes shut, DemiVeemon drew in a breath, attempting to fight through the panic so he could at least do _something!_

_I've used the digi-egg of courage… I've gone toe to toe with MaloMyotismon at the Champion level! Why…? I shouldn't be like this! I've had all kinds of things come down on me before… I think. Why…Why is this so different?_

Yet, in his mind's eye, he saw the fire. Smelled the smoke as the crushing weight of an entire building came tumbling down directly on top of him. It was all there, just as though it were yesterday.

_No! Wormmon got through his problems! I can get through this!_

With a loud growl, he planted Davis' face firmly in his mind – the same face that he wore when the two of them stood against MaloMyotismon – he dug deep into the core of his being. White light burst forth from him, startling Wormmon. A shell of data materialized around DemiVeemon and his body grew as he pronounced his digivolution.

_"DemiVeemon! Digivolve tooo…Veemon!"_

The shell shattered, and Veemon's digital skin grew up over his wireframe, code and core. The fit was harder now, but that didn't matter. All he needed was to get them _out!_ And his nose pointed them in the right direction for it.

_"Vee Head Butt!"_ he shouted, launching himself with pinpoint accuracy through the ventilation shaft and slamming into the grill where he went tumbling out… Out into the open air, with nothing but hard concrete and pavement lying directly – and _very_ far – below him.

_Oh nuts…_ Was all Veemon had time to think before gravity seized hold of him and began to send him careening down toward the city's cold embrace below.

It was just then that a net of silk seized hold of him and stuck to his scales, yanking him backward where he slammed into the hard wall of the Shinjuku government building, knocking the breath out of him in one mad rush. Black spots dominated his vision and he nearly passed out, only to revive when he felt himself being shaken awake.

"Veemon…" wheezed Wormmon clinging to the strand of silk above the reptile, having obviously rushed to stop him.

"T-Thanks," Veemon shuddered. "Guess I really blew this one, huh?"

Wormmon looked at him worriedly before glancing above him. No sooner did he do so, he saw a massive, dragon-like digimon wearing heavy armor begin to slowly fall toward the ground below, his descent helped by a pair of fiery jet engines. The white hair and shining, gold colored eyes told him immediately what was going on.

"Looks like Guilmon just grew up in a big way," he said. "Whatever's going on, it's been handled.

"Huh…" Veemon replied, his expression one of shame for his earlier panic attack. "So…what do we do now? We still have to find Davis and Ken."

Wormmon considered his companion for a moment. He doubted he could just send him home. Veemon would never put up with that, risk of panic or not. At any rate, the root cause of it – the explosive thumps from what was plainly a digimon battle – were gone now, the threat having been taken care of.

"Do you think you can find Davis and Ken?" he asked, only to be interrupted when a harsh light landed on them, a helicopter having swung into view.

_"Stay right where you are, you are under arrest!"_ boomed the voice on the loudspeaker. _"We advise you not to move. We have a laser targeted directly on you."_

_Oh nuts…_ Wormmon and Veemon both moaned together.

**###**

"What the heck is going on here?" Kazu exclaimed as helicopters all buzzed around them, flooding the streets with light. Next to him, WarGrowlmon got into defensive stances and loomed over his partner protectively, a deep, animalistic growl emanating from the depths of his voice.

Raising an arm to shield his eyes from the light, Kazu turned toward Takato. "Aren't you supposed to be on their side or something? You just saved the city and everything!"

"It's…complicated," Takato said, patting his partner's massive leg as Matt and Sora made their way over toward them while behind them, Birdramon reverted into her Rookie form of Biyomon.

"Everyone just raise your hands and don't do anything that might look threatening," Matt said, taking charge of the situation. "Takato, tell your partner to reverse-digivolve."

"Ahhh…" Takato blanched at that. "That's…kind of complicated too…"

"Too?" Matt asked, tilting his head to one side, but Sora was quick to come to the rescue. Placing a hand on her husband's shoulder, she gave him a comforting, though strained smile.

"Guilmon has a bit of a hard time with that," she said. "Believe me when I say, he's a Rookie in more ways than what involves his level." With that, the Digidestined of Love's eyes met that of the Tamer by the same crest. "We'll need to figure something out so they don't start shooting."

"What about getting him to lie down or something?" Jeri asked, peeking out from behind the boy. Her amber eyes were wide and her heart was beating a mile a minute. Sora's eyes fell on her and for a second, she felt her heart skip a beat in shock.

_Keiko?!_ she exclaimed mentally before getting a grip on herself. _No… No. Her daughter. Kari mentioned to me once she was teaching Keiko's daughter. Oh kami…_

Smiling however, she nodded and turned up at WarGrowlmon. "Do you hear that? We're not in any danger as long as we don't cause trouble."

WarGrowlmon glanced back and forth between the humans and the helicopters and then down once more at Takato, who was now waving his hands at him.

"It's okay, boy!" he called. "It'll be just like all those other times we had to deal with them! Don't worry about it!"

"Okay, Takato," the massive digimon said, and with that, he curled himself up and laid himself down, the earth shuddering once more beneath his weight. Helicopters continued to swing around as vehicles pulled up around them and agents spilled out. Takato swallowed as Henry and Rika looked around, uncertain if they should fight or make a run for it. Previous history with Takeru's organization suggested that they had little to be concerned about, but he _did_ warn them to get a move on immediately…

The situation played out as expected fortunately, and though it took some time to gather reports from everyone involved, soon enough the group of Digidestined and Tamers were now making their way across the street and into the park, WarGrowlmon doing his best to do as little damage as possible, a task made quite difficult due to his massive size, his feet leaving great imprints in the ground as they went.

"I don't know if this is a good idea, Takato," WarGrowlmon said upon nearing the edge of the line of trees. "I'm a lot bigger than last time. I won't even be able to fit inside the tunnel."

Takato looked up at his partner anxiously, but he found that he couldn't fault his logic.

"I…guess you're right," he said. "Are you going to be okay out here?"

Rika, coming to a halt behind him, folded her arms together, frowning slightly.

"He's Ultimate level, I'm pretty sure he's going to be fine," she said. Takato turned toward her, pressing his lips together tightly.

"Yeah, I know. It's just… What if people get freaked out because he's out here? Or if Impmon tries to tease him again?"

Rika arched her eyebrows at this news of Impmon, but Henry spoke up before she could pursue the matter any further.

"There are anti-digimon groups in the city," the half-Chinese Tamer pointed out, and Rika's brow furrowed, remembering when the boy had been assaulted by one such individual. No doubt there would be many others roaming about, looking for trouble as a result of tonight's events.

"I can keep an eye on him," Renamon spoke up, phasing into view. She still looked badly battered from the fight, but she was recovering quite rapidly. Rika almost moved to protest, but a quick flicker of her gaze over to Takato, remembering how closely linked the boy was to his partner, she soon thought better of it. She doubted strongly that any anti-digimon groups would be a problem for Guilmon, but…

_Better to be safe than sorry,_ she thought, shifting her arms.

"Fine," the girl replied before turning a baleful glare at WarGrowlmon. _"You_ stay put and _don't_ cause any trouble, got it?"

"I promise," WarGrowlmon replied, crossing a massive, steel claw over his armored chest. "Cross my heart and hope to…. Wait… Do I have a heart?"

"Pretty sure you do, boy," Takato grinned with relief while behind him, there was some laughter from the other children, and Sora and Matt both exchanged amused glances.

"Will you be all right on your way home without Renamon?" Sora asked Rika, turning toward her. "If you want, I can walk you home."

"I'll be fine," Rika replied with an ambivalent shrug. "It's not like I have very far to walk."

"All right, if you're sure," Sora said reluctantly, threading her hand through Matt's fingers before giving each of the children, Tamers or not, a hard look. "All of you, be careful on your way home and _no_ detours! With the way things are, there's bound to be some upset people running about."

"We promise," Jeri Katou bowed politely, though Kazu grinned, clearly wanting to say something sarcastic, but a sharp elbow from Kenta – who saw the look on his face – brought him up short.

"Yeah, we got it," the tall boy said with a shrug of his shoulders. "We'll make sure we're all here in the morning."

Sora winced mentally at that choice of words, her eyes darting over to Jeri for a moment before she nodded. "All right," she said. "Good luck and good night."

With that, Sora and Matt headed off, hand in hand, with their digimon partners following closely behind them. After several minutes, during which the children were now far behind them, Gabumon looked over his shoulder.

"Did you see that girl?"

At that, Matt nodded. "So, I'm not the only one to see it."

"She looks just like her mother," Sora said. Keiko Kurata's face flashed through her mind, the brown-haired girl who, years ago in her childhood, declared her dream to have a bakery, a desire that helped destroy the physical body of MaloMyotismon.

"Almost the spitting image," Biyomon added. "But that doesn't mean that she's going to share the same fate you know. She doesn't have a dark spore like she did."

"No," Matt replied, narrowing his eyes. "But…"

He trailed off, but Sora knew what he was about to say.

"Yeah. It does give off a sense that there's something going on here if she's around. It's almost like it's destiny."

"But for what?" Gabumon asked, picking up his pace so he walked alongside Matt.

"Hopefully nothing," Matt said, giving Sora's hand a tight squeeze as they continued on down the street.

**###**

"So, what do we do now?" Kazu asked as he folded his hands behind his head. Looking up, Henry's eyes clouded with his inner thoughts, the half-Chinese Tamer grimaced.

"I'm going to get Terriermon home so he can sleep this off," he said. Taking out his cell phone, he found numerous missed calls and text messages from his frantic family. He grimaced, not looking forward to that particular meeting. "Anyway, I'll see you guys later."

Kazu arched an eyebrow as the boy turned and hurried off before frowning slightly.

"Whoa. Someone's got some issues."

"Well, it has been a bit of a rough night," Jeri reminded. "I'm sure everyone would like to get home quick and get a little rest."

She glanced over at Takato and upon catching his eyes, she smiled warmly at him, causing a light blush to color his cheeks as he smiled in return. Watching the interplay between them with raised eyebrows for a moment, Kazu shrugged nonchalantly. Girls. He didn't understand them, and he didn't understand why Chumley got all red-faced over them and 'needed them.'

"She's kind of right though," Kenta remarked before grinning at Takato. "Still, that was pretty cool today. You got your partner up to _Ultimate_ level! That's so cool!"

"Ah jeez…" Takato chuckled in embarrassment. Next to him, Rika groaned mentally and folded her arms together.

"All right, that's enough. Gogglehead, are you going to go home or what?"

"Huh?" Takato blinked as his eyes and that of his classmates fell on the fiery-haired girl questioningly. "Uh… Well, yeah, I'm sure my parents are worried. I…ah…probably should get to that, huh?"

"What's up with you?" Kazu asked, still not quite sure what to make of this girl that Takato claimed to be a Digimon card champion and his teacher as well as his friend. "You waiting on him to go home or something?"

Rika's violet eyes flashed as she glared at the taller boy, immediately deciding that she didn't like him at all.

"I'm sure she's just worried about him," Jeri interceded, sensing a sudden tension rising in the air. "Look, why don't we just…leave it here for tonight, okay? We still have tomorrow to catch up and everything."

Rika gave this girl – Jeri was it? – an approving look. _Nice to know that there's_ someone _Takato is friends with other than me and Henry who has a good head on their shoulders._

Kazu grunted, but conceded to the brunette's point. "All right, but I'm coming over tomorrow, so you'd better be ready! I'll be sure to show you how to be a _real_ Tamer!"

Rika's eye twitched at that and her fingers tightened around her arms.

_"Excuse me?"_

"Ahhh…" Bursting out into sudden laughter to distract from the tension that he suddenly felt bursting in the air, Takato quickly bowed to Jeri. "Oh wow, look at the time. Thanks Jeri for getting my cards for me."

"Ah! S-Sure!" Jeri blushed, digging the toe of her foot into the ground, her hands squeezing around one another tightly. "Good night!" Pausing, the girl did as Takato and bowed to Rika respectively. "Thank you for helping him."

Rika shifted uneasily, but nodded. "It's no big deal," she grumbled before turning away and indicating the park path with a jerk of her head. "Come on, Takato. We're getting you home."

"Huh?" Takato blinked. "Wait, you're walking to my place?"

_Oh, for goodness sake…_ Rika groaned again mentally, starting off without waiting to see if he was going to follow. Looking completely befuddled by this, the boy decided it was best to cast his questions to the winds and quickly fell in step next to her.

"That was weird," Kazu noted, once they were far enough to be out of earshot. "That girl is crazier than a fruit bat."

"Well, she's certainly…different," Kenta added, adjusting his glasses, uncertain as to what to make of Takato's new friend.

"I think it was rather nice that she's making sure Takato gets home safe and sound," Jeri said with a small smile. "She's his teacher after all, so she probably feels responsible for him. I wonder…" She paused, thinking back on something Takato had said a few months ago. "Do you think…she's the same girl Takato wanted to see? The…um…What did you call her? The…"

"…Digimon Queen?" Kazu finished with a snort. "Give me a break. Just because Chumley said that she's a card champion, it doesn't mean that she's _that_ girl."

"I don't know, Kazu," Kenta replied. "From what I heard, she's about the right age. The name 'Rika' even sounds familiar. I'll have to look it up when I get home, but…I think it might be her."

"Well… Whatever. If she's a card champion, I'll just have to show her that there's a new one in town, and that's me, _BlackWarKazumon!"_

"You boys are so silly," Jeri giggled as she started to head off, waving at them. "Anyway, I'll see you two tomorrow. Stay safe, the both of you."

With that, Jeri turned her attention toward the park path and the warm image of a certain goggle-wearing boy residing in her heart, humming softly to herself as she went.

**###**

Takato and Rika made their way down the park path in silence for several minutes, Takato thinking at first that he had misinterpreted Rika's words – and lack thereof with regards to his question about her walking him home – but as they continued along, missing the path where she would turn off, it became evidently clear that she wasn't going straight to her residence just yet. Glancing at the missed path for a moment, he looked at Rika questioningly.

"You know, you don't have to walk me home," he said, earning him a sharp, but brief, look from Rika before she looked away, the darkness hiding the light blush that colored her cheeks as she adjusted her arms around each other.

"I'm making sure nothing freaky happens to you again until you have another pair of eyes on you," she scowled. Takato raised an eyebrow at that.

"Huh? Oh, you mean when I passed out?" Adjusting the card box in his hands, he frowned slightly. "That…was pretty weird, huh? I don't remember anything like that happening during Okinawa when we all digivolved to Ultimate. Uh…what about you?"

"I wouldn't be saying the whole thing was weird if it _did_ happen to me," Rika grumbled. "Did Henry say anything like that happening to him?"

"Not…that I remember," Takato replied, scratching the side of his face as he wracked his memory. "But then, there was a lot about that whole adventure that was just plain weird, like the Trinity Burst and the meeting with Tai…" His eyes dropped down in contemplation. "I bet if we all attacked together, we could have done that again and defeated Mihiramon without any problems."

"It might be a good idea to _not_ depend on the Trinity Burst happening," Rika advised. "For one, we don't even know how it happened, and we had trouble digivolving to Ultimate. We all got clobbered until Dinoboy digivolved." She chewed over her lower lip for a second, going over her thoughts from the past month. Things that Tai had said; her thoughts about _destiny_ and how they were all moving toward something _huge._

_Something's coming, whether we like it or not…_

"What if we practiced doing a Trinity Burst and figuring out how to digivolve to Ultimate and how to fight at that level in case we can't do a Trinity Burst?" Takato suggested. "You know, like after school."

He paused, his mind drifting over to Kari, wondering if she was all right. Not taking any notice of this, Rika rolled her eyes mentally, yet she bit back a sharp retort about how stupid the idea was. Takato might not have thought through the ins and outs of practicing how to go Ultimate, but…it was _practical_ to consider that sort of thing, and, as Sora reminded her back when the boy was trying to get Growlmon to return to his Rookie level, at least he was trying to problem solve.

_Maybe…if we build off that. Get him to think a little bit more…_

That sounded a bit more productive in her mind than simply scolding him for having a dumb sounding idea.

"Practicing that kind of thing isn't going to be easy," she said in contemplation. "We really need one of the Digidestined to help us with that. Sora… Once she had Biyomon do something."

She thought back to the battle with the Dokugumon, where Biyomon had briefly assumed the form of her Champion form without actually digivolving. Could they do something like that?

They continued to talk as they exited the park, and before too long, Rika forgot that she was walking the boy home until the warm glow of the bakery fell across the pair.

Neither Tamer noticed the blue-eyed boy shadowing them from a distance, a soft, almost amused smile on his face before he faded out of view with a crackle of electricity.

**###**

Ken sat alone in the empty room, empty that is, save for the single table, the two chairs, and the mirror. He tugged at his handcuffs, listening to the thumping in the building, watching the lights wink in and out until, finally, the thunder vanished and the lights returned to normal, and peace and quiet returned to fill the room. Shifting in his chair, he waited. Waited for…something. _Anything_ to happen.

_Are they just going to leave me here like this?_ he wondered with a frown. He doubted that would be the case, but Takeru had previously threatened to take away his license if he didn't play ball and…

_…well… I didn't._

Still, he played the waiting game, counting down the time in his head until, finally, after what was decidedly an eternity and a half, the door behind him, opened, and in the mirror, he saw Takeru enter, a black folder in one hand, his father's lighter in the other and a stern look behind his sunglasses.

"Mr. Ichijouji," the blond-haired head of Hypnos said. "I believe it's time you and I had a talk."

_It's about time,_ Ken grunted mentally.


	96. Episode 15: Shiva and Vishnu

The faint whisper of sunrise touched Kari's face, causing her to work her brow into a slight grimace. The light however would not be denied, and pulled out of the darkness of sleep, Kari cracked her eyes open, finding herself staring up at the ceiling of an unfamiliar room – a hospital to be more precise – with the weight of her partner, Gatomon, curled up by her side, tucked between the crook of her arm and purring softly.

Shinjuku was still standing, and the quiet sound of doctors and nurses outside suggested a peaceful air to the new day.

_What happened?_ she wondered, craning her head exhaustedly toward the window. _The last thing I remember…is…TK. TK and…something going on at where he works. I…_

Placing a hand on her head, she winced, feeling a dull headache – the same one as from yesterday – throbbing behind her temples. Ignoring it, she struggled to sit up without waking Gatomon up, a task made quite difficult due to Gatomon having placed herself close to her side, apparently not wanting to miss a thing. Kari debated for but a moment about interrupting the digimon's cat nap when a voice – one of jovial humor that was eerily familiar – caught her attention.

"Welcome back to the land of the living. I was starting to worry about you."

Turning, Kari's chocolate eyes widened upon sighting the familiar, grinning face of a young, teenage boy leaning against the wall, arms folded over his chest, blue eyes dancing with a mixture of humor and relief. He bore battered-looking clothes, a red handkerchief wrapped around his neck, and a red-trimmed, metal gauntlet that ran all the way up his forearm, upon which was a thick bar that ended with a slight, bulbous bulge at the end where his elbow began. Kari's lips parted ever so slightly in surprise, struggling to say something… _anything,_ eventually only choking out a single word, or rather, a name.

_"Ryo?!"_

"Nice to see you again, too," the boy said, pushing away from the wall and striding over to her. "How are you feeling?"

"I…" Kari shook her head, struggling to collect her thoughts at this unexpected visit. "You… _What_ are you doing here?! You said that…that you couldn't…you couldn't come home anymore…"

"Well, I'm not _technically_ home," Ryo replied with that same, playful grin that he almost always seemed to wear. "Fukuoka is pretty far from Shinjuku after all…"

_"Ryo!"_ Kari hissed angrily. The teen rubbed the back of his head as he used to. Now that her mind was starting to play catchup with seeing him again after all these years, she realized…he looked _exactly_ the same as he did the last time she saw him.

_It's as though he has become frozen in time. Is that because of his partner? Is that because of…Milleniummon?_

Kari looked around uncertainly at the absence of Ryo's partner. Taking note of this, Ryo winked at her and continued to grin.

"He's cooling his heels in the digital world for now," he replied to her unspoken question. "He's had a bit of a long day, so I figured I could step away for a little while. Normally I wouldn't, but…" He paused, his grin slipping. "…well, your brother asked to look in on you."

_"Tai?!"_ Kari's eyes widened in shock as she all but shouted this, causing Gatomon to stir.

"Kari…?" the cat digimon slurred. "What…? _Ryo!"_

"Hey, kitty-cat," Ryo winked, waving at the feline Champion. "Got any good catnip?"

Gatomon's tail whipped about wildly in agitation, her tail ring glinting in the rising sunlight as her eyes sought Ryo's partner in agitation. Ryo sighed at this before returning his attention to Kari.

"We ran into Tai in the digital world. He's sorry that he can't see you right now. Something's going on up in the Sovereign level. Something _bad._ The Devas are on the move and are agitated about something, and there were wild storms…"

"Storms…" Kari gasped, memory hitting her hard and she clutched the sides of her head. "TK… He was doing something last night…"

"Yeah, I figured as much," Ryo nodded. "He's got some problems, that's for sure. Anyway, it looks like this has been a little too much for you and I need to get going. I've been here a little longer than is good for me. I'll let Tai know what's going on."

"No!" Kari exclaimed, her head shooting up. "Ryo! I… _we_ need to know what's going on! What…?"

Lifting up his arm, the boy who at one point was known as the Legendary Tamer tapped the gauntlet on his arm. A beam shot out from the bulbous section of his device and a column of light materialized in front of him. Lightning crackled around him and the doorway – for a doorway it was, as Kari could see the sands of the digital world materializing within – and the youth stepped through. Tipping her one last wave upon reaching the other side, the door of light winked out of existence, leaving Kari and Gatomon alone.

"What…was _that_ all about?" Gatomon began, but instead of answering, Kari began to climb out of bed, much to Gatomon's stunned amazement.

"Ah…! Kari!"

"Where are my clothes?" the Digidestined of Light said irritably. "I'm discharging myself."

**###**

"When you said that you had a surprise for me about how you were going to deal with the Dark Ocean," began Izzy to Takeru with a tone that was struggling to muster as much restraint as possible, "I had no idea that _this_ is what you were referring to."

Across from him, Takeru stood staring out over the city, his hand cradling the lighter of his father, his thumb caressing its steely surface. He said nothing and did nothing.

"Takeru," Izzy continued, "this Juggernaut program… What you did with it last night…"

"…was a mistake," Takeru interrupted, turning toward him. At this, Izzy raised an eyebrow at this, having not expected it. _Nothing_ about Takeru since last night had been anything he expected, having been gone for _hours_ until finally taking time to sit down with him to have a discussion.

At this point, another part of him wondered if it was entirely within Takeru's ability to lie if it suited his purpose.

_He's been obsessed with the Dark Ocean ever since the Battle of Odaiba…_

"A mistake?" Izzy asked, deciding to play his cards carefully. He didn't want Takeru to know about Tentomon's investigations.

"Yes, and not one I intend to repeat," he continued, bringing his arms around and flicking the lighter open. "The purpose of the test was exactly as I told you; to lure digimon from the Dark Ocean that still resided here into its net and transport them to the digital world. However, the program did not go as intended. The deaths of those digimon were unintentional."

He glanced at Izzy out of the corner of his eye and flicked his lighter closed. "As I said, last night was a test, and I wanted you for the 'afterward,' as I said."

Izzy furrowed his brow uncertainly, not sure what to make of this. Tentomon's analysis indicated a great deal many more things than what Takeru was saying.

_Takeru knows far too much about programming and artificial intelligence to make a mistake like this. The digital world is a huge and complex organism to be sure, but we worked together on the firewall. He should know about the intricacies of working with the digital world._

_But then… Very few of us had any real interaction with the Dark Ocean, and to the extent of our knowledge, only Ken had any real understanding of how to create portals to that place._

He shuddered involuntarily.

"I'm not entirely sure if the powers of the digital world will take that excuse lying down," Izzy said carefully. "Your program took control of a vast amount of the digital world's data. This is no longer about simply putting up firewalls anymore."

"I am aware of that," Takeru replied, flicking his lighter open again. "And if we complete the project, it won't be an issue anymore. There won't be any more Dark Ocean to be concerned about."

_Will that be because you destroyed it, or because you actually locked it away?_

For some reason, Izzy wondered if it was more the former rather than the latter.

"You killed a great deal of digimon last night," Izzy pointed out instead.

"They were all Nightmare Soldiers," Takeru pointed out. "Enemies of both worlds."

"The activation of your program resulted in a response from the digital world. I have a feeling that they disagree with you about _something._

"No doubt from the Dark Ocean," Takeru countered, flicking the lighter closed with a loud snap. "They may not have identified themselves, but they would be the only ones to respond in such a manner. Their representative stated that they would make humans their slaves. That is hardly the language of the Harmonious Ones – the _Sovereigns_ of the digital world."

"No," Izzy conceded. "But last night will get a response from them."

Scowling behind his sunglasses, Takeru turned toward the Digidestined of Knowledge.

"Mr. Izumi. These are your only two choices. You could either make the program as best it can be to ensure that their fears are brought to rest, or you can stand aside and go home. Which shall it be?"

Izzy sat there for a moment. There were options outside of Takeru's, but they presented a harder road, and who knew _what_ Takeru would get up to without someone filing off the rough edges to his programs, or opposing him where it counted. Yolei was here, granted, but there was a limit to what she could do. She was too under his thumb, and he…

_Well, I can't say that I'm in much of a better position. He knows most of my tricks._

Still, he had to admit that if Juggernaut could be smoothed out, it would be of tremendous benefit to the relations between the real and digital worlds. _If only we could be sure about getting all the major players on our side…_

"Have you talked to Gennai since this incident?"

Takeru's frown deepened. "Unfortunately, no. The damage to the network has had some side effects to communicating with the digital world. I expect it to clear up though."

Izzy breathed a small, unhappy sigh at that before meeting Takeru's gaze again.

"I'd like to talk to him before coming to a final decision," he said. "If anything, I'd like to try and work something out with him with regards to this in case there _is_ a situation that we need to address. We're talking about an entire world after all. This…Juggernaut." Izzy paused before continuing. "Takeru, what you've made could be turned into a terrible weapon."

Takeru was quiet for a moment before turning away.

"Very well," he said. "I will contact you when communication with Gennai has been restored. You may go."

_That…was easier than I thought,_ Izzy blinked. Breathing a mental sigh of relief, Izzy got to his feet and started for the door.

As he stood at the exit, preparing to close the outside world to Takeru, he heard him say something in the quiet of his office as he stared out over the city as the sun rose over it.

_"Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds._ How appropriate."

Izzy paused at that, shuddering before closing the door. Reaching into his pocket, he withdrew his wireless earpiece and slipped it in.

_"That's from the Bhavavad Gita,"_ came the voice of Tentomon through it. _"He really has lost it, hasn't he?"_

"It…is appropriate," Izzy pointed out, starting down the hall. "Oppenheimer quoted the same passage when he was interviewed about the first atomic bomb testing. It's a hard comparison to argue against."

_"Patamon would not be happy to see him like this,"_ Tentomon said as Izzy arrived at the elevator and hit the call button.

"Yes, but regardless, we can only deal with the here and now. We need to get everyone on board about this. After last night, I have a feeling that the Digidestined should become a bit more proactive about the situation."

_"Hmmm… I'll send out the usual messages over the secured servers. But…"_

"But…?" Izzy raised an eyebrow as the door dinged open.

_"There's been increasing Hypnos activity on our systems. More than just the usual information gathering. I don't know how much longer we'll be secure."_

To his credit, Izzy managed to keep his expression neutral as he hit the button that would take him down to the main lobby.

"Something else to think of," he said under his breath as the doors began to close on him.

_"Oh, I've also been getting messages from Mimi. She's not happy that you stayed out all night."_

Izzy's eyes widened as he felt horror sink into him. He had messaged her and explained the situation as best he could, but…he had _promised_ to be home for her.

Rubbing at his exhausted eyes, he struggled to think of how he was going to make this up to her.

**###**

Yolei threw the pillow at the wall with tremendous force, her breathing heavy and her face a dark, almost purplish red. Fury blazed within her brown eyes. Stomping over to the pillow, she proceeded to kick and stomp on it, increasing the force and intensity of the blows with each passing second until finally, with a scream of undying wrath, she lashed out with a sweeping kick and belted it across the room, narrowly missing Ken, who stood at the door, an exhausted look on his face, yet his eyes full of pity and understanding.

Making his way over to his wife, the dark-haired man took her in an embrace and kissed her hair lovingly. She flinched, as if attempting to break away, but quickly melted into his arms, tears welling up in her eyes as she shuddered against him.

"That… _bastard!"_ she spat angrily. Ken ran a hand over the top of her head, kissing her once more. Having told her about his run-in with her superior and their 'friend,' it was only natural that Yolei would be furious, especially in light of how his Juggernaut program ultimately ended up stirring up _more_ trouble and causing a massive death of digimon who could not be brought back to life.

All of this, was only the tip of the iceberg.

"I'm home," Ken said, rocking Yolei softly against him. Taking hold of his hands, she squeezed them tightly.

"You almost weren't," she said. "If you hadn't agreed…" she paused, sniffing angrily as the tears finally spilled out from her eyes. "…agreed to give up your digivices…Takeru wouldn't have let you out of there! If everything at Hypnos went bad…"

She stopped dead there, daring not to go any further. The video footage of the battle atop Hypnos replayed through her mind. The ease at which the Ultimate level digimon – Mihiramon as the reports said later – had devastated the new generation Tamers had been frighteningly rapid. None of the other Digdestined – scattered across Japan as they were – had been able to arrive in time, and it took the miracle of one of the new digimon – Guilmon – digivolving to Ultimate in spite of his injuries to defeat the Ultimate.

Had Ken and Davis been able to fight, things would have decidedly gone _very_ differently.

_If those kids failed to beat that digimon…other things would have gone_ very _differently,_ she thought, squeezing Ken's hands all the more tightly until she was all but crushing them within her grip.

"Yolei…" Ken gasped, wincing.

"Sorry," Yolei grimaced. With great effort, she released her husband's hands and turned around in his grasp, catching his lips with her own before parting. "It's just… I could _kill_ Takeru for what he did! I should quit! I should fucking turn him in! I should…!"

"None of those things will do a thing," Ken said, rubbing her back in an effort to calm him. "You know as well as I do how much support he's amassed over the years."

"I don't care! I can't _stand it anymore!"_ Yolei crushed her husband to her, burying her face into his chest. "This is _twice_ that he's done something like this to you! I was there when Juggernaut was being activated! The screaming…! Oh, kami… The _screams_ of those digimon! He's worse than you _ever_ were as the Digimon Emperor!"

"We can debate about that later," Ken said, kissing the top of her head again. "We can debate about a _lot_ of things later, if you'd like. But for now…"

Yolei scowled as he trailed off. "You're going to tell me to stick it out, aren't you?"

"Would you quitting solve anything?"

Yolei was quiet for a moment, running her hands along Ken's back. She swallowed down a lump, becoming all too aware of the one still growing in her womb. She still hadn't told him…

"K-Ken…" Yolei began, her voice thick. Hearing the urgency in her voice, Ken pulled back and looked at her quizzically. Seeing her tearstained face, he traced a thumb along her cheek. She leaned into it, almost breaking into a sob. She wanted to tell him then and there about their child. But…she couldn't. Not now. Not with so many things as they were that needed their attention.

"When…" she began, opting for another topic that was still true to how she felt right now. "When I think about…how I might not have seen you ever again… Ken. It _scares_ me. We have _so_ many people we weren't able to bring home from the war. People who were never buried… People we don't even know if they're dead or not… Still alive somewhere in the digital world or…or the Dark Ocean. What if what happened last night…"

"I'm here now," Ken said, drawing her close to him again, kissing at her tears. "It's okay. _We'll_ be okay."

His assurances didn't feel solid at all. Didn't feel _concrete._ She needed _something_ to let her know that her Ken was here and fine. Grabbing hold of him, she kissed him hard before pushing him back ever so slightly.

"I'll make sure of that," she promised fiercely. Grabbing hold of his shirt by the collar, she proceeded to tug it open, unmindful of the buttons as they were shorn off, causing Ken's eyes to widen at first before he drew her back to him in understanding, kissing the crook of her neck lovingly.

_She needs this,_ he thought, leading her over to the bed where they fell together. A second later, his now buttonless shirt was flung across the room.

With a heavy sigh, Wormmon approached the still open door to their bedroom and cast a strand of his silk at the knob.

"At least remember to close the door before the two of you go about your business," he said, pulling it closed behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I was writing Izzy's scene with Takeru and pondering the title of the chapter, I was reminded of the atomic bomb testing and Oppenheimer's (mis)quote from the Bhagavad Gita, and it occurred to me how much of a big deal the situation with Juggernaut was than it appeared at first glance.
> 
> For those who are curious, Oppenheimer's quote regarding the first atomic bomb comes from a passage from the Bhagavad Gita, chapter 11, verses 31-33, detailing the hesitation of Prince Arjuna in a battle against his enemies. Vishnu, in the incarnation of Krishna, explains to him why he shouldn't hesitate, detailing some aspects of how the world – the real world – worked, particularly with regards to reincarnation and how it fit into the Hindu cosmology. The prince, then asks directly to see Krishna's real form, who takes it on in all its overwhelming glory. After this is done, Arjuna and Vishnu continue in the following passage:
> 
> "Tell me who are You in such a fierce form? My salutations to You, O best of gods, be merciful! I wish to understand You, the primal Being, because I do not know Your mission."
> 
> The Supreme Lord said: "I am death, the mighty destroyer of the world, out to destroy. Even without your participation all the warriors standing arrayed in the opposing armies shall cease to exist.
> 
> Therefore, get up and attain glory. Conquer your enemies and enjoy a prosperous kingdom. All these (warriors) have already been destroyed by Me. You are only an instrument, O Arjuna."
> 
> The whole thing is definitely worth a read, and I highly advise it. :)
> 
> Until next time.
> 
> -Crazyeight


	97. Episode 15: Meetings and Watchful Eyes

Makuramon found himself sitting atop a building, munching on a piece of bread as he gazed down at the bakery below. Tearing into the loaf, he scowled, hating the limitations of the material world and its constant _demands_ for sustenance. Such things were necessary in the digital world as well, but at the higher levels and sufficient control over one's data, such things were reduced to a minimum, requiring very little attention.

Now, however, his stomach gnawed at him daily, refusing to leave him alone until it stood satiated.

The problem was, it was almost _never_ satisfied.

_Makaaa…_ he grumbled mentally, swallowing another miserable bite from his meal – stolen from the bakery below. Still, as much as he hated to admit it, the food tasted _delicious,_ and served as a more than sufficient means of providing energy whilst he spied on the Tamer inside the bakery. The goggle-wearing boy within was working with a friend on some project, though what Makuramon wasn't sure, save that he and another of his human friends – though not a Tamer as far as he could see – busied themselves with it all afternoon.

_It must be_ something _important,_ he thought, scowling even further, straining to see what it could be. It was hopeless at this minute however, as both boys worked just barely within the visual angle that the window provided.

_I'll have to investigate later, when he is no longer home,_ Makuramon thought, leaning back.

**###**

"…aaand…there."

Takato beamed as he sat back in his chair, looking proudly on his latest creation before turning to Kazu expectantly.

"Well? What do you think?"

Grinning, Kazu folded his arms together and nodded at Takato's achievement, a flag bearing the title, _Digimon Tamers,_ complete with what appeared to be stylized – if drawn crudely – pictures of Takato, Rika and Henry with their partners.

"Looks good," Kazu replied before pointing at the image of Rika. "I think you got her just right."

"You think?" Takato chuckled a bit in embarrassment, wondering if he had done the right thing. Unlike himself and Henry, her 'portrait' displayed her with an angry expression. Fierce determination and willingness to do battle with the enemy.

_At least, that's what I was going for._

"Definitely, bud," Kazu nodded again. "I spent only five minutes with her, and she basically acts like she's got a bone to pick with the whole world."

"Well, I can't _entirely_ argue with you there," Takato conceded reluctantly, remembering his early encounters with the fiery-haired girl. "But you _do_ have the tendency to get under people's skin. Rika's not that bad once you get to know her."

He thought back to last night and their walk down to his place. She had been a little odd toward him after the battle. Protective even, it seemed like, but mostly, he thought about how the two of them had engaged each other to think of ideas for their practice sessions.

_She mentioned something about talking to Sora about teaching us something she called 'flash digivolution.' Whatever that is. Sounds familiar though._

"I guess you know better than me," Kazu continued, unaware of the boy's inner thoughts. "But she's still crazier than a bag full of cats. Kenta told me that she's _the_ Digimon Queen we were talking about a few months ago. He found her acceptance speech when she got the championship award. All she said when she got asked what she did to prepare was that she "didn't do anything" or something like that. Who says something like that?"

"Um…you?" Takato grinned, only to be met with Kazu's dark scowl.

"All right," the taller boy grumbled. "You got me there. Anyway, are you seeing her later or anything?"

"Yeah," Takato nodded, proceeding to tie the flag to some bamboo sticks. "In a little bit. She has school after all and she gets out a little bit later than me. Plus, she's bringing Sora to show us something, so…yeah. There's that."

Kazu _harrumphed_ a little at that. "Man… I wish I could do stuff like that," he grumbled, causing Takato to wince noticeably. He had a feeling that part of the reason behind the temporary, if agonizingly long, breakup in their friendship had something more behind it than Guilmon simply scaring them. Kazu _loved_ digimon after all.

"Maybe you will," Takato said, quickly covering his wince up with a smile. "I mean, yeah, the digital world isn't exactly handing out digivices but…" He fumbled and furrowed his brow. "I think…"

"You sure know how to make a guy feel better," Kazu said sardonically.

"Hey! I don't even know how I became a Tamer. I mean, all I got was a blue card and it changed my card reader into a digivice."

"A blue card?" Kazu tilted his head to one side. "What the heck are you on, bud?"

"You know…it was like a digimon card, only…you know, blue." Takato scratched the side of his head. "It's…kind of hard to explain. Well… Maybe not _that_ hard, but I don't understand what that blue card is or how I got it or why. It was just… _there_ one day, and then it disappeared."

"Uh…okay." Kazu tilted his head to one side in confusion at this before glancing at the flag. "Are you sure you're not a Digidestined or something? Last I checked, Tamers were made by the government. The digital world chose who got to be Digidestined."

"I…don't know," Takato admitted, scratching the back of his head. "It's a little late now, anyway, and I just don't know enough about why I have a digivice. Like it or not, I'm a Tamer."

He gave a small smile at his friend. "Besides, it's not like being a Tamer is a bad thing."

"If you say so, Chumley," Kazu shrugged. "I wouldn't complain if I were in your shoes. I'd be happy to just _have_ a digimon."

"You know there's more to being a Tamer than just having a digimon," Takato pointed out. "Taking care of Guilmon hasn't been easy. It's not like the card game where you just slap a digimon card down and that's it."

"I kind of guessed that," Kazu said with another shrug. "I watch Kenta feed his 'partner' every day you know. It's just…" He paused, frowned, and looked away for a moment before returning his attention to Takato. "Hey, why didn't you tell us sooner? I'm not saying that to be a jerk or anything, but you know me and Kenta would have been happy to help you out. You wouldn't have had to ditch class or anything on your own. We could have tagged along."

"You're a really generous guy, Kazu," Takato laughed. Glancing at his alarm clock, he climbed to his feet with a groan and hoisted up his flag. "I've got to get going so I can give Guilmon his dinner. Hopefully he doesn't mind that it's a little bit late today."

"I'm sure he'll be fine once you show him the cool banner we've been working on." Kazu met Takato's gaze levelly as he joined him. "Seriously though. Why _didn't_ you tell us? I thought you trusted us. I mean, we're your buds after all."

"I don't know." Takato shifted uncertainly, thinking back on all those times he had Guilmon out in public. At first it had been fine, but as time wore on and the battles became increasingly destructive, he began to get more and more worried looks. "I guess… Well, Guilmon's a hazard digimon. Sometimes he gets weird looks from people and other times…not so much. Plus, Henry got attacked once by someone who hated digimon. I kind of worry that other people might get caught up in that just because they know me."

"So your solution to that is to make a flag that points you out to everyone who might hate you?"

"Oh, ah…no?" Takato looked up at the flag. "I was just thinking that maybe if we present ourselves in a certain way while we're protecting people, it might make people a little less weird about us. Let everyone know that we're not all bad guys."

"I guess that makes sense," Kazu said with a sympathetic nod. "There are some pretty crazy people out there though. Crazier than fruit baskets. Still. I'd like to help if I can. You need it if you're going to protect the world, right?"

Takato offered the boy a worried grin. "Are you sure? It can get pretty crazy after all."

"Yeah, but you know me…"

"Yeah," Takato laughed. "You're crazier than Rika."

"Hey!" Kazu exclaimed indignantly. "That's not fair! I'm supposed to be the _master_ of crazy! _Especially_ when it comes to digimon!"

"Yeah, well…good luck with that. She can be pretty competitive."

"She just hasn't met her match," Kazu snorted before cracking his knuckles. "I'll show you. The Digimon Queen is going down, and soon there'll only be the Digimon _King."_

_Oh boy…_ Takato couldn't help but laugh mentally as they left the room together. He opened his mouth to say something in response to that when a call came from his mother downstairs.

"Takato! Your teacher is on the phone!"

_Ms. Kamiya?_ Takato thought, exchanging a worried look with Kazu.

"Okay!" he called out before hurrying down the stairs. Their teacher hadn't been in school today on account of an 'illness.' What illness it was remained unspecified however. The whole thing sounded odd and more than a little worrying. More so as Gatomon hadn't been available to clear things up.

_Last night Mr. Takaishi said she was exhausted. That's all there was to it, right? I mean, running around the city isn't exactly easy after all._

Something felt off however. Try as hard as he could, he couldn't shake the feeling that there was more going on than what he was being told.

Approaching his mother, she held out the phone for him and he took it.

"Hi, Ms. Kamiya," he greeted. "Is everything all right? I heard you were in the hospital."

_"I'm fine, Takato, thanks,"_ Kari said briskly on the other end. _"I'm setting up a meeting with the other Digidestined. I'd like you to be there."_

"Ah…sure?" Takato blinked, adjusting the phone while worriedly looking over his shoulder. His mother had made her way into the back, but kept near enough to the door where she could keep a close ear on things. "I mean, sure! Where…?"

_"I'm holding it in Shinjuku park for the convenience of you and your friends,"_ she said before giving him the address of a playground as it was close by and easy to get to on short notice. _"We'll try not to keep you out too late, but it's important for you to be there. Sora says that she and Rika will be there."_

"Okay," Takato nodded before a thought occurred to him about the oddities of Kari calling up Henry, a student who wasn't in her class, Tamer or not. "If you haven't, I can talk to Henry."

_"I… Yes. That might be a better idea. Thank you."_

"No problem," Takato nodded, glad he could be helpful. He didn't know quite what Henry's family thought of his being a Tamer, but he could only imagine what his own parents would be like if they ever found out.

_When,_ he corrected himself, and for once he realized the inevitability of that. _When_ was he going to have a sit down with his family and tell them about Guilmon?

_Hopefully not for a long while,_ he mused. _If I tell them now, Mom will ground me until I'm 110!_

_"Okay. We're gathering there shortly. I'll see you there. Be safe, Takato."_

With that, the phone hung up with a click, leaving Takato to look at the receiver with an uncertain expression before hanging up.

"Is everything all right, Chumley?" Kazu asked.

"Yeah, I think so. Just a…thing." He looked in the direction of his mother. Her back was turned to him presently, but if he knew anything about how sensitive her ears were, she no doubt could hear everything that was being said.

"I'm heading out with Kazu, Mom!" he called out, stepping away from the phone.

"All right," Mie said, looking over her shoulder. "Just make sure you get back in time for supper. Is everything all right with you and your teacher?"

"Ah…yeah. She was calling to make sure that I'm all right. She…She was out sick today and wanted to make sure that I'm keeping up on my homework."

Mie shook her head, a small smile on her face and she planted her hands on her hips. "Honestly, Takato. You're lucky you have a teacher as good and as caring as she is about her job. I hope you appreciate all she does for you."

Kazu grinned behind Takato. "Chumley may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, Mrs. Matsuki, but trust me. He does."

"Thanks…I think," Takato replied before looking back at the phone. "Oh! Right, I've got to give Henry a call."

**###**

"Getting together in the park?" Henry asked, trying to keep his tone as natural as possible so as to not arouse the suspicions of his family. He glanced at the clock, noting that it was almost dinnertime.

_"Ms. Kamiya says that it shouldn't take too long,"_ Takato said on the other end. _"She says that she doesn't want to keep anyone, but she has something important to tell everyone."_

Henry pressed his lips together. His father was watching TV with Suzie, the two of them laughing up a storm as the little girl pumped Terriermon's ears into the air like pom-poms. Jaarin was seated nearby, playing on her phone while Rinchei was in his room. His mother, currently, busied herself in the kitchen cutting up ingredients. No takeout tonight, which meant she would be rather strict about his leaving the apartment.

Given the events of last night, he was certain his parents would have qualms about his going _anywhere_ until he was well past the age of retirement.

_I don't want you involved in this sort of thing,_ he remembered his father telling him. _Henry, you have a responsibility to your family. We have responsibilities to each other. What if Suzie needed you?_

Henry pulled his hand together into a tight fist. "I'll check, hang on."

Cupping his phone, he headed over to where his father sat. In the past, leaving wouldn't have been a problem as long he checked in regularly and got home in time for meals. Now things have changed.

"Hey Dad?" he began, coming to a stop behind the couch. Tearing his attention away from the TV, Janyu looked up at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, son?"

Henry struggled not to fidget, uncertainty filling his heart.

"A friend needs to see me real quick. He wants to talk to me about something but he can't do it over the phone. He says that it shouldn't take long."

Janyu was quiet for a moment before nodding.

"Sure. Just as long as it's not too long. Your mother is working hard on dinner tonight. You don't want to make her upset by showing up late."

"No," Henry said, breathing in a sigh of relief. Seeing this, Janyu raised his eyebrow again.

"What's the matter, Henry? You're acting like I'm going to arm wrestle you over this."

"Sorry," Henry said.

Seeing his son's hesitation, Janyu turned to face him more fully.

"If this is about last night Henry, try to understand that I was upset that you just left like that when we needed to get to a safer place. It was reckless and it caused a lot of problems. You upset everyone and made your mother worry a great deal."

"I know, Dad," Henry said. "I'm sorry."

"But," continued Janyu, "that doesn't apply to you going out and seeing your friends. So long as you come home when you're supposed to. On that you've proven to be responsible enough. Just remember where your responsibilities lie. That is all I ask. That's all any of us want."

"Right." Again, Henry sighed, though there remained a troubled note in his heart. "Thanks Dad."

"Anytime, son. Go do what you have to do and hurry on home, okay?"

"Can I come too?" Terriermon asked. "I could use a walk."

"But Terriermon," said Suzie, continuing to pump his ears up and down. "We still have the ball to go to, and we can't go without the guest of honor."

Extracting his ears from Suzie's grasp, Terriermon hopped down and bowed politely to her.

"Sorry, Princess Suzie, but duty calls. Henry gets lost without me around to keep him out of trouble."

"Pretty sure you also get him _in_ trouble," Janyu quipped with a light laugh. Although an old joke in the family by now, with the memory of recent events still so fresh, Henry couldn't help but wince at that. Reaching out, Janyu picked his youngest daughter up and with a grunt he hoisted her onto his shoulders.

"Don't worry though. I'll have to go to the ball in his place."

"Yay!" Suzie exclaimed happily, kicking her feet into the air. "Mommy! Mommy! Did you hear? Daddy's going to take me to the ball!"

Bounding over to Henry, Terriermon hopped onto the boy's shoulders.

"Get us out of here before we have nightmares of Suzie trying to find a tutu in his size," he said in a hushed voice.

**###**

"That went over better than I thought it would," Terriermon said as the pair made their way down the winding park paths toward their destination. "For a while there, I was sure he was going to chain you to the apartment and take away your digivice."

"I'm not sure I could blame him if he did," Henry said, earning him a quizzical look from his partner.

"What? Seriously, Henry? You helped save the world last night and now you're saying you'd be okay with him keeping you away from that?"

"I…" Henry paused and frowned. "I…don't really mean it like that."

"Really? Because it almost sounded like you did. It gave me flashbacks to when you wouldn't let me fight because you were afraid of me getting hurt."

Henry winced again at that, feeling as though he had been stung by his partner.

"I still worry about that," he admitted. "But…I understand that it's a risk that I'm going to have to accept if I'm going to help protect the digital world and my family. It's just…"

He trailed off, uncertain how to continue for a moment.

"It's just… Dad's right. Because of how I left my family, I made them worry. I risked putting them _in_ danger."

"Somehow, I get the feeling you and I aren't going to see eye to eye on that," Terriermon said. "Like I said, you protected them by helping to fight against that tiger digimon."

"But what if it was something like the V-Pet attack?" Henry asked. "You saw the news footage. If something like _that_ happened, then they wouldn't have had anyone to protect them."

Terriermon pressed his lips together and wrapped his ears around Henry's head. "Momentai, Henry. Everything's okay, isn't it? No one got hurt. I mean besides us digimon that is."

"Terriermon…" Henry sighed as his partner gave his head a sympathetic squeeze.

"Momentai, Henry," the rabbit-dog digimon replied softly. "Momentai."

**###**

The group was largely gathered by the time Davis and Ken arrived alongside their partners, though with less eagerness than one might expect for such a gettogether. It was a sign of how things had become for their group – life decisions and the steady beat of conflict – that a situation such as this was the main reason why this was the largest gettogether the group saw outside of anniversaries.

Davis a disgruntled look on his face, fury barely held in check. Looking around at the gathered group, he saw Mimi alongside Izzy and Palmon – the former's belly looking a bit rounder than before as her pregnancy continued to advance – talking to Sora and Matt with Rika, Biyomon, Gabumon and Gatomon hanging back a pace, the red-haired girl looking as though she were trying to appear separate from the others. Joe and Gomamon as well were there, talking to Kari, who was currently appearing cagy and evasive with regards to his pointed, doctoral questions with regards to her health, having been called in by Takeru and, due to the lack of sleep from the last-minute nature of his 'request,' was struggling to maintain his calm. Henry stood close by with Terriermon balancing on his paws atop one of the playground's monster-shaped forts, obviously bored by the lack of important things going on.

Of the group's other newest, and youngest gogglehead, there presently remained no sign, but Davis doubted that would remain that way for very long.

The surprise though was Cody and Armadillomon, whose presence immediately caused DemiVeemon to hop off Davis' head and bounce on over to the armored Rookie.

"Armadillomon!" he exclaimed happily. "Hey! This is a surprise!"

"Howdy," Armadillomon replied with a floppy grin as he rose onto his hind legs. Lifting his arms, he picked up DemiVeemon and held him in the air. "Hey, you've put on some weight!"

"You're one to talk," Cody's deadpan response came, belying the small smile that touched the corners of his lips as he set his dark green eyes on Ken and Davis, extending a hand toward them in fellow greeting. "Hey guys. How are you doing?"

Not for the first time did Davis marvel at the difference life made for the man since childhood. One of the youngest members in their group, Cody Hida originally stood as the smallest, his height being something he would be at a disadvantage with for years well into puberty before finally shooting up to where he stood now.

"Could be better," Ken returned, clasping Cody's hand in his own, and again Davis thought back to a time where, though brief, Cody's sense of morals was so firm in its foundation that he held Ken almost to the point of contempt for his being the Digimon Emperor.

It was a statement of how much he had changed that he had become a defense attorney, desiring to see the other side to a situation and give people – and digimon – a chance at redemption.

"Could be a _lot_ worse too," Davis chimed in with a grunt, earning him a raised eyebrow from the green-eyed man.

"Sounds like even you two have stories to tell," Cody remarked before looking around. "Is Yolei…?"

"Not coming," Ken shook his head. "She's reporting back to Takeru to keep an eye on things."

Cody furrowed his brow at that. "Kari hasn't given much details out just yet. She wants everyone here first, but from what I've been able to piece together from the news… What happened last night was something he did, isn't it?"

"Yes," Ken nodded reluctantly. "I…"

"Hey guys!" Takato called, the boy and his partner coming out from around one of the playground's forts. "Sorry we're…"

"You're late," Rika interrupted, her violet eyes shooting over at the boy sharply.

"Sorry," Takato grinned apologetically. "I had to make a side trip so I could get Guilmon and I had Kazu with me…and…well…" Takato paused, shifted, and shrugged before turning to Kari, his eyes lightning up upon seeing her. "Ms. Kamiya!"

"Takato," Kari greeted with a nod of her head before turning to Rika. "Don't be too hard on him, Rika. He hasn't told his parents about his being a Tamer and Guilmon can't keep himself hidden the way Renamon can."

Rika opened her mouth to question why the Gogglehead simply didn't tell his parents, only to hesitate when she remembered she hadn't said a thing to her mother, and it took Ken and Davis for her grandmother to find out. Folding her arms back together, she contented herself with a _harrumph._

"Fine. Well, he's here now, so how about we get this over with?"

"Are you in a hurry or something?" Davis asked, lifting an eyebrow at the fire-haired girl. Rika narrowed her eyes at him, but didn't respond. Davis watched her for a moment, expecting a response of _some_ kind, but after a moment, Mimi coughed politely.

"Um… If we could start?" she asked, one hand resting on her belly. "I don't mean to sound selfish, but there's someone I need to put to bed soon."

"Right," Kari said before taking a deep breath. "Ryo visited me in the hospital."

There was a dead silence for one long moment before Gomamon spoke up.

"You just sort of launch right into it, don't you?"

"Uh… Who's Ryo?" asked Takato. He counted himself as something of an expert on the Digidestined, but Ryo was a name that, while it sounded familiar, he didn't know. He turned to Rika and Henry. Henry, catching his gaze shook his head while Rika shrugged. Yet there was an odd, thoughtful look in her eyes.

"I'm not surprised you don't know about him," Izzy said. "A lot of information regarding him was deleted by Gennai after the war. I think the only people who actually know about him are us and whoever else might have met him personally."

"That doesn't tell us _who_ he is," Rika said. "Or what the big deal is with him meeting up with Gogglehead's teacher over there."

"It's complicated," Ken said, running a hand through his hair. "He's a Digidestined partnered with an extremely powerful digimon capable of controlling time known as Milleniummon. He's also tried to conquer the digital world on more than a few occasions. Milleniummon I mean. Ryo's had to…deal with him."

"That sure _sounds_ complicated," Terriermon said.

"You don't know the half of it," Gomamon said. "Ryo's partnered with Agumon and Veemon before in order to face him. He's also the only person who _can_ defeat him."

"Wow. The digital world sure knows how to pick them, doesn't it? You'd think there'd be more quality control going on when it comes to choosing Digidestined."

"Terriermon…" began Henry in a warning tone, earning him a giggle from the long-eared digimon.

"So, back to the original question," Joe began, turning his attention to Kari. "What did he want to see you for?"

"He…wanted to look in on me for Tai," Kari admitted. "But he said other things. He said something bad is happening with the Sovereigns, and that…something called the _Devas_ are on the move."

"Devas…" Renamon chimed in now, her eyes narrowing. "I have never heard of them before during my time with the Nightmare Soldiers."

That left her with an unsettled sense of concern. Information was key to survival, but if they knew nothing about their enemy…

Feeling as though she were being watched, Renamon glanced out of the corner of her eye to find Gatomon gazing at her thoughtfully. She looked back, but presently said nothing. After one long moment, Gatomon's eyes left hers.

"They might have something to do with the Sovereigns," the feline digimon said, picking up the threads of conversation now. Looking at the Tamers, she continued, "You might know them better as the Harmonious Ones. They rule the digital world and protect it, dividing it into four quadrants. Azulongmon is usually the one we deal with, but there are others."

"So…what?" Rika asked, shifting her weight onto one foot. "Are they coming here to pick a fight with us now?"

"Rika," began Sora, "we don't even know if they are responsible or if they're even connected to these Devas."

"I believe that they might," Renamon interjected, her tail swishing slightly as she remembered something. All eyes turned toward her.

"How do you know?" Palmon asked from her place beside Mimi.

"The digimon we fought last night," Renamon replied, "Mihiramon. Right before it attacked me, I asked it who it represented. It told me that I had only two choices. To serve the Sovereign or be destroyed. That implies, strongly, a possible connection. At least with _one_ of them. Perhaps only one of them."

"Maybe one of them went bad?" Davis asked. "I mean, it wouldn't be the first time we had something like this happen."

"Maybe," Cody said. "But there's simply not enough evidence to suggest anything except that there most definitely _is_ a group called the Devas and that they're on the move. This…" He glanced at Renamon. "I'm sorry. You said it was a…?"

"Mihiramon," Renamon supplied.

"Thank you," Cody bowed politely, causing Renamon's eyes to widen ever so slightly before smiling.

"You're welcome."

"Anyway," Cody continued. "All we know is what Ryo said. This Mihiramon might be unconnected to them to whichever Sovereign is focusing its attentions on the real world."

"And for all we know it might only be doing that because of Takaishi," Davis said, barely keeping the anger out of his voice. "That guy's been running roughshod over _everything._ Creating some weird program that nearly blew up Hypnos…"

At this, DemiVeemon stirred, but remained silent.

"…and he took me and Ken's digivices…"

"Wait, he did _what?!"_ Mimi exclaimed, her eyes widening in shock as Izzy placed a calming hand on hers, a subtle reminder that she needed to keep calm to keep from putting stress on their developing child still growing inside of her. Ken sighed.

"We have some stories of our own to tell," the Bearer of Kindness said. "The short version is, Davis and I were starting to catch on to Takeru's plan and he shut us down before we got too far with it. We were arrested and he confiscated our digivices."

"No more Imperialdramon," Wormmon said.

"Well that's just terrific," Rika grumbled.

"Very much so," Izzy said, giving Mimi's hand a squeeze. "Worse yet, we're all pretty rusty when it comes to combat and digivolving. Setting Ken aside, it's been about fifteen years since we last saw a major battle or exercised digivolution."

"I can still handle Ultimate," Gatomon said, folding her arms together.

"And me," Palmon said. "I think I can push it to Mega if I try hard enough, but…" She looked worriedly at Mimi, who, reading the concern in her partner's eyes, tightened her grip on her digivice.

_"We_ can do it," she said, winking as she put on a brave face, her hand caressing her belly.

"Mimi…" Sora began.

"Sora, we have to fight again, don't we?" Mimi said, charging into the debate full speed now, planting a fist on her hip. "I'm not at the point where I have to be off my feet yet. And _don't_ you start agreeing with her, honey. We're Digidestined!"

"We are," Izzy nodded reluctantly, though worry still shone in his eyes. "But…"

Mimi frowned at his sudden hesitation. "But…what? Izzy, what is it?"

Izzy turned toward Matt, who in turn, looked at Takato, Rika and Henry.

This wasn't lost on any of the three Tamers.

"So you're going to depend on us?" Rika asked.

"The digital world tends to operate in terms of generations," Izzy explained. "It's the one reality that we can't escape. Our power…our ability to help the digital world and protect the worlds fades over time because we growing older. We are beneficial to maintaining the balance between the worlds when we're young, and our power peaks as we enter puberty and reach adulthood. That's why we couldn't digivolve to Mega independently during our first adventure, but we could later on. However, now…"

_"Now_ we're having trouble with things we used to take for granted," Matt finished, remembering the difficulty he and Gabumon had digivolving to Mega even in the digital world. "At any rate, there's the prophecy of the Trinity that we have to consider."

"Prophecy," Rika _harrumphed_ under her breath, suddenly feeling a flash of anger. She hated that word. Almost instinctively she looked at Takato, remembering his 'stupid dream' as she so often described it in her mind.

"Again," Izzy began, having overheard the girl. "It's important to not look at it as though it's something that's inevitable, so much as information being passed along in a roundabout manner."

Rika, however, remembering Takato's dream, wasn't sure that she was convinced of that. Or if she _could_ be convinced.

_That battle at Okinawa… We didn't even do anything except be there. That Trinity Burst thing happened all on its own, without our really needing to do anything. We didn't even have a choice at all. And Gogglehead's dream… If there was nothing behind it except something we can't change…something we don't have a choice in, then why would he even have a dream about me in the first place? What does that dream even mean in the first place? And that prophecy…_

Again, that feeling of completion and inevitability from Okinawa rose up inside her, but she pushed it down. Sora was here. She was surrounded by Digidestined. They would no doubt argue against her.

"Whatever," Rika grumbled, unfolding her arms and planting her hands on her hips. "A fight's a fight. Besides, _someone_ needs to keep _Gogglehead_ over there out of trouble."

At this, Guilmon's golden eyes shone happily and he looked over at a slightly surprised Takato.

"Did you hear that, Takato? Rika says she's going to help me keep you safe!"

"Quite the change from when the two of you first met," Terriermon quipped, causing Rika's fingers to curl into her palms as another flash of anger shot through her. She didn't like being reminded of that. What could have been had things gone further.

Takato, for his part, gave a light laugh, a blush starting to form on his face.

"We'll all watch each other's backs," he said, rubbing the back of his head before looking at the Digidestined. "I promise, we won't let you down. Whatever is going on, prophecy or not, we'll do everything we can to protect both worlds."

Smiling, Sora approached Takato and gave his brown hair a quick ruffle, causing his face to bloom bright red in surprise and embarrassment.

"We're glad to hear that," the elder Digidestined of Love said to the younger. "And I think we couldn't have left the job in better hands."

"Sure, if you like those hands dropping the job because they have butterfingers attached to them," giggled Terriermon, earning him a sharp glare from Henry.

"Terriermon…"

"Momentai! I'm just kidding! Sheesh!"

"Well… He's not completely wrong," Takato admitted reluctantly. "I'm…not exactly the most experienced here. I mean, Rika's been training me…" Turning, he smiled gratefully at the fire-haired girl before returning his attention to the others. "…but I need to get better."

Sora smiled at the boy softly. Retracting her hand, she knelt down just enough so she was at eye level with him.

"We weren't experienced either, once upon a time. In fact, later on, we met someone who was better equipped for their first trip to the digital world than we were when we started. But you have us, and you have Rika and Henry, who can help. We'll all help teach you what you need to know."

"It's what we were going to do originally," Rika said under her breath, folding her arms together once more.

Snickering, Terriermon looked over at his partner with a mischievous look twinkling in his eyes. "She sounds pretty upset. I think we interrupted their date."

At that, Rika's face flooded as crimson as her hair while Takato suddenly made a choking sound, blushing mightily himself, being taken aback by this sudden and unexpected turn of events. There was an exchange of looks among the adults, a mixture of mild amusement and concern.

"Maybe we should call it a night now," Matt suggested before looking at Kari. "Unless you can tell us anything else…?"

"That's all there is that I know about," the Digidestined of Light said, massaging her forehead. "And Takato at least should hurry up and get home."

"Before we do that," Gatomon began, looking up at Joe. The bespectacled man nodded and pushed his glasses up on the bridge of his nose.

"Right. Takato, tomorrow if you have time, I'd like to have a look at you. Gatomon said you experienced some pretty nasty feedback during the fight last night. I think everyone would appreciate knowing if you came out of it without any complications."

"Well, I feel fine," Takato replied, looking at Guilmon questioningly, who in turn simply shook his head.

"I feel fine too."

"All the same," Matt said. "It's a good idea to make sure."

"That's right," Sora said softly, ruffling the boy's hair again. "We can't afford to lose a valuable member of the team."

"I'm pretty sure Rika doesn't want to lose her newest chew toy either," Terriermon said with a giggle, this time though low enough to do little more than earn him a warning look from Henry.

"Anyway," Joe said, approaching Takato. Taking out a card from his shirt's pocket, he presented it to Takato. "Here's the number you can reach me at. I'll still be around tomorrow, so don't hesitate to call."

"Uh…right," Takato nodded, accepting the card and quickly memorizing the number before pocketing it. "Thanks, Mr…Kido?"

"That's me," Joe smiled as a seal-like, white-furred digimon with long, front paws and a vibrant, orange mohawk crawled over.

Approaching, the seal grinned at him and held out his clawed paw.

"And I'm Gomamon. No need to be so formal with us. We're all on the same team here. It's nice to meet you. Put her there."

Takato couldn't help but chuckle a little in amusement at the thumbless offer of a handshake, but Takato accepted it gladly.

"Oh wow!" he said, eyebrows rising in surprise at the unexpected squeeze he got from the mammal digimon. "You've got quite a grip there."

"He can cook pretty well too," Joe smiled, picking his partner up and setting him on his shoulders. "He and my wife like to put together a comedy act when they work together."

"Joooeee…"

"Oops!" Joe blushed. "I know, I shouldn't be talking about my private life with others…"

"No, it's not that," Gomamon admonished. "The fun is lost without her here to do the act with. It's like a good meal. It has to be _experienced,_ not told."

"That's very true," Guilmon nodded excitedly. "There's no point in talking about food if it's not going to be eaten."

"With all this talk about food, certain digimon are going to get hungry," Biyomon said, a hairs breath before Gabumon's stomach let out a loud growl.

"Oops. Excuse me," the blue-furred wolf digimon apologized, blushing.

"Funny," Terriermon said, a bit surprised by this. "I expected that to come from Guilmon before anyone else…"

Another growl emanated from the group, and all eyes turned toward the crimson dinosaur in question, who was now holding his stomach in embarrassment.

"Guilmon… You _just_ ate!" Takato admonished.

"I'm sorry, Takato. But every time I hear the word food, my tummy gets all grumbly…"

"Then with that in mind, I think it's time we all headed off," Matt said. "Come on, Gabumon. Let's get you something to eat."

"Sorry, Rika," Sora said apologetically. "We'll have to see about teaching the two of you Flash Digivolution another time. Tomorrow sound good?"

"That's fine," Rika shrugged. A part of her felt annoyed, but this meeting gave her some things that she felt needed thinking over. "I've got time, so if Takato can't make it, I can teach it to him."

"I'd…advise against that," Sora replied, frowning slightly. "But we'll talk more about that later."

As the adults said their goodbyes and began to leave, Henry turned toward Takato and Rika.

"Well guys, it looks like it's going to be up to the six of us to save the world from any evil digimon from now on."

Rika was silent for a moment, her eyes somewhat distant, yet introspective as thoughts of fighting and prophecy ran through her mind. All the things she did that led up to now.

_Did I really have a choice in all of this? Or do I have strings pulling me?_

She wasn't sure. Doubts gnawed at her, but this was what she knew. The others likely would go on without her if she refused.

_Especially that Gogglehead,_ she thought, and she felt a twinge of guilt and worry.

She didn't look at Renamon. She didn't even ask her what her choice would be. As far as she was concerned, her choices were the same as her partner's in all things.

"We'll fight," she said finally. "But this time, our fights will have meaning."

"Yeah!" Takato beamed happily upon hearing that. "We're a team! Oh wait! Guilmon and I have a surprise!"

Turning, he waited for his partner to do something, but upon seeing his partner remaining rooted in place, he coughed politely.

"Uh, Guilmon, that's your cue."

"Okay!"

Guilmon dove into the playground's hut and began to dig around in it, causing Rika to exchange a curious look with Renamon.

_Just what are these two goofballs up to?_ She couldn't help but think, returning her attention to the crimson digimon.

Knowing them, it was something ridiculous.

"Ah! Here it is!"

Finally, Guilmon pulled back and swung up a banner and stuck it in the ground triumphantly. As one, the two Tamers and Terriermon all blinked in surprise at the sight.

"Well, what do you think, huh?" Takato laughed, planting his hands on his hips. "Pretty cool if you ask me! It's our official Digimon Tamer flag!"

A pall of silence fell between the other four members of the remaining group, digesting Takato's 'surprise.'

"Uh… What are we supposed to do with it?" Henry asked carefully, trying not to sound as though he were putting his friend down.

"Come on! All teams have a flag or a banner to let everyone know who they are!"

"They do?" Terriermon asked, looking as though he were staring at a Dark Ocean digimon asking if anyone would like to have a pleasant chat over a cup of tea. Did Tamers and Digidestined use banners and flags? He couldn't think of a single instance where they made too much of a difference, especially the Dark Ocean and the Nightmare Soldiers. He supposed during the war it did, but right now it just struck him as putting a bullseye on them for everyone to shoot at.

He wanted to say that, but for once, he wanted to be tactful. He just couldn't make fun of Takato for all the hard work he obviously put into it.

Rika, however, had no compunction about sharing her thoughts.

"Congratulations, Takato," she said, pulling no punches with her opinion. "This might be the lamest thing I've ever seen."

Takato's expression wilted at her blunt criticism. But before he could say or do anything, Guilmon abruptly cried out as the bamboo pole snapped without warning, sending him crashing to the ground.

"A-Ah!" Takato exclaimed in horror as his handiwork was destroyed before his very eyes. "Guilmon, you broke it!"

"I owe you one, Guilmon," Rika grinned, causing the boy's shoulders to sag. Feeling a ping of guilt at this, she shifted, feeling uncomfortable.

_Still…_

"What I can't believe is that you thought to _make_ a flag in the first place."

"I just…wanted to make sure that people around the city knew we were on their side," Takato said sadly, collecting the broken remains of the flag. "After everything that's been going on, a lot of people are probably upset. Especially with digimon. I wanted…I wanted…"

"You wanted to give them something they could believe in," Henry said, realizing what Takato was talking about. In a way, it made sense, remembering the anti-digimon sentiment that led to his being assaulted.

"Yeah! Exactly!" Takato's head shot up and the fog of his despair lifted ever so slightly.

"I don't think it's going to help much if you put a big target on us," Rika said, folding her arms back over her chest.

"Sorry," Takato said, becoming crestfallen again. Once more Rika felt another ping of regret and she approached him.

"Don't say you're sorry over something like this," she said. "Come on. Let's get some quick training in before you go home."

Grinning devilishly, Terriermon hopped onto Henry's shoulder.

"Looks like they're getting their date after all."

"Terriermon…" Henry sighed as their two friends blushed and, for Rika's part, glared dangerously at the rabbit-dog digimon.

"Renamon?" Rika asked. "Walk all over him."

While Terriermon and Takato gave a loud yelp, Calumon watched on, giggling at the sight.

"Like I said, humans can be so silly!"

And Calumon, alongside the Tamers, was watched in turn, with great curiosity, by Makuramon.


	98. Episode 15: A Candle Flickering within the Dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The battle against the burnout continues, and after two weeks since my last posting (and far, far longer for this fic) I present to you a new chapter of Trinity. Hopefully, this will be the start of more regular updates. We’ll see what happens. Until then.  
> -Crazyeight

Rumiko made her way down the streets, her pace a touch excited. She had _finally_ gotten out of work at a decent hour, wanting to spend some time with her daughter. It had taken some effort, involving a lot of schedule negotiating, but all her hard work had paid off, leaving her now to contemplate what she would do with Rika once she got home. Watch a movie perhaps? Her library was extensive, though she wasn't sure what sort of films the girl enjoyed watching nowadays beyond the occasional action flick.

_Maybe she'd rather teach her mother how to play her card game,_ she thought before giving a slight chuckle, feeling a touch silly at the mental image of her seated at Rika's table, holding a set of cards from the child's game. The notion didn't quite fit with her, and she doubted that she would have fun. And Rika… It was hard to say with her, though she got the idea that her daughter was very driven with regards to the game, having often found her seated at her table, playing solitaire with herself, a deep look of concentration on her face.

_Driven? More like obsessed._

Rumiko frowned slightly, thinking on her daughter's behavior toward the card game. It didn't do anything to prepare her for the future, and she was often just…sitting there in her room, or going out to play it against others who no doubt enjoyed the game as well. Was it all right for her to be spending so much time on such a thing, hanging out who knew where and playing with whomever? And it was based on digimon…

_Well… There's nothing wrong with digimon I suppose,_ she mused, remembering DemiVeemon and the other Digidestined digimon that she met in high school. Still, she couldn't help but wonder if it was all right for her daughter to play such a game. Did she want to be like Davis?

_Her father had a similar obsession…_

_That_ caused her frown to darken. Remembering Spencer, her former husband, did little to brighten her mood at any given day of the week. He hadn't been a _bad_ man, but he just hadn't been a good fit for her, and she realized it far too late. Davis, by contrast, was far better. Attentive, fun to be around, friendly with no trouble being close.

_Why…did we separate again?_ she wondered with a touch of regret before brushing the feeling away. What was done, was done. If she did otherwise, she wouldn't have had Rika, or realizing now just how _good_ she had it with Davis now that they were together again.

A small smile curved on her lips as she remembered the night they spent together. Of course, Rika's discovery had put a bit of a dark cloud over the whole thing, but there wasn't much she could do about that.

_Maybe by hanging out together I can smooth things over…_

Rumiko was broken out of her thoughts however as she spotted a scene before her, and pausing in her stride, her breath caught in her throat.

**###**

"You don't have to walk me home, Davis," Kari said as the man walked beside her, Gatomon trailing at her heels while DemiVeemon rested atop his partner's head.

"I know," Davis said, looking at her worriedly. "But the subway is on the way there anyway, like I said. I just want to make sure that you're close to home before taking off. Maybe catch up and stuff too, but…you know me. I get worried about my friends after they've been in the hospital."

Kari bit her lower lip at that. She couldn't exactly blame him for being worried. _Everyone_ was, and with good reason. Twice in the past… _Twice_ darkness had asserted itself over her, forcing her into the service of the Dark Ocean. First with Gennai's shadow and again with the Digi-Egg of Darkness. The stain, it seemed, remained, even after all these years of it never manifesting.

_Darkness…really does stay with you forever,_ she thought, drawing her hand into a tight fist. Seeing this, Davis raised an eyebrow.

"Look, I'm not trying to make it sound like you can't handle yourself or anything," he began. "Especially since you've got Gatomon here, who can bench press a bus…"

"I can bench three," Gatomon said absently, her own thoughts half-distracted, yet still listening.

"Right. Three. Anyway, I just…"

"It's fine, Davis," Kari interrupted, coming to a halt. Lifting an eyebrow again, Davis drew up next to her.

"Uh…huh?"

"Davis, after all these years, do you really believe that I'd think that about you?" Turning, she gave her friend a smile. "After everything you've done for all of us?"

"I…" Davis looked away, feeling a well of shame rise up in his heart. "I really wasn't there for you when it counted after the war."

Kari shook her head. It seemed Davis remembered things differently than she did. She supposed that may have been the case from his perspective, all things considered.

"I kept pushing you away though," she pointed out. "Chasing after Takeru… Chasing after Tai. Believe me, _you_ were there for me when they weren't."

Her eyes becoming downcast as she thought back to that dark time of her life – the sheer _rage_ she felt when she learned that the portals to the digital world had been shut down with Tai on the other side, unable to come home. She hadn't seen Davis as trying to help her, focusing instead on Takeru, who became single minded in his studies, eventually disappearing into the bureaucracy of the government. _Takeru,_ who had the best access to the digital world…who eventually fell out of contact with her and everyone that had been his friends and family.

"I was pretty stupid not to see it sooner," she finished, her voice softer now.

"Kari, if there's one thing you aren't, it's stupid," Davis frowned. "That's my department."

Giving a light giggle, Kari swatted his shoulder playfully.

"You can't take all the credit, Davis. Everyone's allowed to have one or two moments. Let's just agree that that was one of mine, okay?"

"Kari…"

_"Davis,"_ Kari interrupted her tone becoming authoritative, switching to the voice she used with her students. At once, her friend's body jerked, old memories imbedded within rising to the surface once more. Smiling softly, she slipped her hand into his, pulling him closer.

"You're a _good_ friend, okay?" she said insistently. "Don't ever forget that, and don't let yourself believe otherwise."

A playful grin crossed her features and she cocked her head to one side. "Do I need to make it an order?"

Davis chuckled at that, glad to see a bit of the old Kari from the war make a return to the world.

"No." He shook his head. "No, you don't need to give any orders. I don't agree though, but…"

Her gaze softened at him, unable to see why Davis felt this way. She remembered his hospital visits quite well after all. He had been awkward and clumsy, but honest in trying to help her feel better as best he could. It had taken her a while to see that, and back then, in her blindness and anger she did little more than reject him – seeing his promise to her about finding Tai as just another attempt to win her affections – and lash out. She hurt him – deliberately – when all he ever wanted was whatever was best for her. He wasn't Tai or Takeru, and for once he didn't try to be. He was just…himself. They patched things up fairly quickly fortunately; Davis understanding what she was going through, having his experience with Ken to fall back on, but it remained a sore point for her on occasion that she acted in such a way towards a close friend of hers, difficult circumstances or not.

_Davis…_ she thought. _I really am such an idiot…_

Tightening her hand around his, she drew a step closer.

"Davis… Do you ever wonder…?"

She trailed off, not sure how to best word what was on her mind. Her heart quavered in uncertainty, wondering if Davis would be okay with that, or if she herself was as well. She rejected him after all, and years ago she could say with utter certainty that she didn't feel anything for him beyond friendship. And now… Did that really change? Or was there something else going on inside, hidden just beneath the surface.

An image flashed in her mind of herself kissing Davis, and before she knew it, she found herself leaning forward to test and see where things would lead, ignoring Gatomon's growing eyes as she did so.

"Ever wonder… Wha…?" Davis began at her sudden lapse into silence, only to reflexively draw back in surprise as she moved toward him. Kari jolted to a halt, realizing what she had been about to do, and now it was her turn to retreat slightly, one hand going to her arm and hugging it close as she flushed in shame.

"S-Sorry," she said. "I don't…I don't know what came over me."

Collecting herself, she offered him a small, embarrassed smile, hoping to sweep the whole thing under the rug as quickly as possible.

And yet, a part of her felt a chord of curiosity, wanting to know why she had been rejected so quickly.

"You…must still have feelings for Catherine, right?"

She had heard that the two of them split up during the summer, though she lacked a great deal of details surrounding it. Not that it mattered to her, or so she thought.

Davis rubbed the back of his head in obvious discomfort and uncertainty while DemiVeemon looked down between the two.

"No… No. It's not about Catherine," he said. "There's…someone else now."

_Someone else?_ Kari's eyebrows rose up in surprise at that, and at once shame crept into her once more, blooming bright red on her face. _Oh kami… What did I almost do?_

"He's together again with Rumiko," DemiVeemon joined in, looking down at his partner. "Or at least I think so. You two slept together, didn't you?"

"I… _DemiVeemon!"_

"What's the matter, Davis?" DemiVeemon asked, perplexed by his partner's embarrassed reaction. "You slept with Catherine when the two of you were together."

Davis groaned and dragged a hand over his face while Kari could only stare at them in shock. Davis…back in a relationship with Rumiko, Rika's mother. After all these years.

_And here I am…trying to get between them because…because…why exactly?_

Kari folded her hands in front of her, and forced a small smile on her face, trying to ignore the hot flush that spread across her face over DemiVeemon's frankness about the status of Davis' relationship with his first girlfriend.

"R-Right," she said, wishing she didn't feel so disappointed. Why _should_ she be? It wasn't as though she felt anything for him beyond friendship…right? "Well, I'm happy for you, and I hope that the two of you get along well. And…sorry."

Davis looked at her with soft, concerned eyes, clearly seeing how torn she was inside about what almost happened just now. For half a second, she found herself hating that look. It would make this awkward situation _so_ much easier to deal with if he didn't… _care._

"Kari…" he began, only to be abruptly interrupted as a light-haired woman came barreling in from behind the Digidestined of Light.

_"Davis!"_ Rumiko called 'excitedly,' brushing past Kari and wrapping her arms around Davis, pulling him into a powerful kiss. Davis made an awkward, surprised sound while Kari's eyes went wide as saucers, completely taken aback by the woman's rather bold, public move. Already, there were a few murmurs of disapproval and surprise at the sight.

Rumiko, for her part, simply didn't care. Pulling back with a face blushing brightly, she beamed at Davis, who could only stare in stunned surprise.

"R-R-Ru…"

"Hey there," she greeted, brushing Davis' cheek lovingly. "I saw you with your friend and thought I'd drop in and say hi."

"Ah…h-hi…" Davis finally stammered out, his mind going at a mile a minute. She had seen them? Did she _see_ what he and Kari almost did?

_She had to have seen us! Oh nuts, oh nuts, oh nuts…!_ His mind went into overdrive. He had _just_ gotten back together with her. Was he going to lose Rumiko again all over a misunderstanding?

"Hello again, Rumiko," spoke up Kari, offering the other woman a little, if embarrassed bow. "It's…been a long time. Congratulations on your modeling career taking off."

Rumiko turned toward the other woman, making sure that she didn't give off any hostility. She remembered Kari well from high school; known as 'the Child of Light' even before her being a Digidestined became public knowledge, and she remembered getting along well with her back then.

All the same, she remembered why she and Davis broke up, and wondered if history would repeat itself, as Kari had held Davis' heart back then.

_He pulled away when she tried to kiss him though,_ she reminded herself. _And somehow, I doubt Davis mentioned anything about our relationship until now. Kari… She was never the kind to do things like that. She may have been a bit of an imp back then, but never with things like that._

"Thank you," she replied, smiling at Kari. "I'm sorry that I haven't kept up with all of you, but…"

"It's all right," Kari waved off. "I imagine life as a model must be pretty busy."

"It is," Rumiko nodded. "I had to jump through hoops just to get out a little bit early today."

"I bet." Kari paused before continuing. "Well, I'd better get going. I'm almost at my apartment, and I wouldn't want you to lose the extra free time you managed to get."

"Kari…" began Davis, only to be interrupted by a shake of Gatomon's head as she stepped forward.

"Make sure Davis gets home before curfew," Gatomon said before winking at Rumiko knowingly. "Or keep him overnight, if that's what you'd prefer. Just make sure you use some catnip afterward, okay?"

"Gatomon!" Kari exclaimed, blushing madly in embarrassment.

Gatomon, however, simply crossed her arms together.

"What? It cures it all. I can't think of anything that'd be better really."

"You've been hanging around _Terriermon_ too much at the school I think," Kari groaned, picking up the feline and setting her on her shoulder. She looked at the blushing Rumiko and Davis apologetically. "Sorry. I _really_ ought to get going. I'll see you later."

With that, the Digidestined of Light hurried off, leaving an embarrassed Rumiko to gaze at her retreating back while Davis could only shake his head in utter bewilderment.

_Things just get weirder and weirder,_ he thought before turning to Rumiko.

"Um… Rumiko? I…uh…think we should have a talk."

The light-haired woman turned her violet eyes toward Davis and smiled softly.

"Yes. But why don't we wait until we're somewhere more comfortable first. I have a feeling you have a lot to talk about tonight."

**###**

_"Finally,"_ Gatomon said, preening her ears. "I never thought we'd get out of there."

Fidgeting, Kari glanced up at her partner and adjusted her grip on the feline so that she could look her in the eye.

"Gatomon. Please tell me that you didn't say all that _just_ to get me to leave."

"Well, you weren't exactly going to get yourself out of there on your own," Gatomon replied. "No offense Kari, but you've been making quite a few bad decisions lately."

She fixed Kari with a reproachful look and Kari winced, knowing precisely what she was talking about. The decision to have Joe – who Takeru had look after her at the hospital – keep the events that led to her fainting a secret being a prominent example, never mind her attempt at kissing Davis just now.

_Speaking of which…_

"Kari, I don't want to paw at you about this, but…why did you try to kiss Davis back there? We didn't know he had broken up with Catherine and gotten together with Rika's mom again, but kissing him when you would have thought he was still together with Catherine… That's not like you."

Kari sighed and massaged the bridge of her nose.

"I…haven't really felt like myself at all for a long while now." Lowering her hand, she let a little bit of the self-control she had over herself slip, and suddenly she looked badly exhausted; her shoulders slumping a little. "I feel like the me that I've been lately has been just a mask I've been wearing."

Taking a turn down the sidewalk, her apartment came into view. For the first time that she could remember, she found that she didn't want to be there; like she hated it and how empty it felt even while she was there with Gatomon. A part of her found herself wondering if that was why she tried to kiss Davis; that she wanted more _human_ affection. Be a little less alone at night and in the morning.

She remembered her conversation with Takato, and how she confided in him that she believed she made a mistake becoming a teacher. She just felt so crushed by everything now. So exhausted and burned out, all hope might as well be gone.

_It's no wonder why I can't shake off the darkness inside of me,_ she thought, continuing down the streets towards home with Gatomon at her heels.

**###**

Beef sizzled on the grill as Cody sat across from Joe, Gomamon turning over the cooking meat with a pair of chopsticks while Armadillomon licked his lips. Lifting an eyebrow, Gomamon raised the chopsticks and pointed them at the yellow, armored Rookie in an accusing manner.

"Keep your mouth away from the grill, pal. This is delicate business and I want _everyone_ to have a piece."

"I know. I'm sorry," Armadillomon said, holding his wide stomach as he swallowed some drool that threatened to overflow his mouth. "'Scuse the water works from me. I'll…ah…"

"Napkin, Armadillomon?" Cody asked, passing one such item to his partner with a small, amused smile on his face. The armadillo digimon took it gratefully and dabbed at the corners of his mouth.

"Thanks, Cody."

Joe smiled wanly at the sight of the two friends.

"So…" he began slowly while Gomamon poked at the cooking meat. They were in a restaurant, Cody having suggested eating out together to catch up when it had been mentioned how long it had been since they had seen or even spoken to one another. A light snack, it was promised to Joe, as neither he nor Gomamon wanted to spoil dinner with the love his life.

"So," Cody agreed with a nod. "As I said, it has been a while."

"Indeed." Joe pushed his glasses up onto his face. "What have you been up to?"

"Well, being a parent as well as a lawyer for the most part," Cody replied. "Finding time to be both is…quite challenging. Fortunately, Armadillomon is good with Hana."

"She keeps getting me mixed up with a horse for some reason, but she always has a smile on her face around me," Armadillomon boasted, rising up onto his hind feet and planting his paws triumphantly on his hips.

"And how's Isumi doing?" Joe asked while Gomamon flipped the beef over once more. "Recovering well?"

"Very much so," Cody smiled before bowing his head politely. "She and I are very grateful for your helping her through the pregnancy."

"I do what I can," Joe smiled. "I wish there was more, but…"

He trailed off, causing Cody to fix him with a contemplative gaze before continuing.

"In either case, I am glad that the situation with that Rika girl seems to be resolved, _and_ that she seems to be friends with the other…ah…Tamers?"

"Tamers," Joe nodded, thinking back on the Takato child, wondering how he was managing from the feedback. "How do you feel about her skipping out on having to deal with the legal system?"

"All done," Gomamon said suddenly. "Come and get it while it's hot!"

Smiling, Cody took up his chopsticks and proceeded to collect some of the cooked beef for himself and his partner.

"Thank you, Gomamon. Wow, I forgot how good you got to be at cooking."

"Don't let these flippers fool you," Gomamon grinned with a wink. "And feel free to compliment me all you like. I don't mind."

Clasping his hands together, Cody said a quick thanks for the food before digging in, and was quickly accompanied by his fellow companions. Smiling at the savory taste of the meat, Cody added another thanks to the cook before returning his attention to Joe.

"About your question… I'd be lying if I said I wasn't relieved. I'm…not sure how I feel about that, especially with the world depending on her, but she's in Ken's hands now. I do wonder how she feels about all the things she did. From what her grandmother and Sora have told me, she's a good child and feels bad, but… I don't know. I can't help but wonder sometimes."

"You meet all sorts as a defense attorney," Joe said between mouthfuls.

"Indeed, I do," Cody acknowledged. "I would like to meet with her in a more private setting. But from what I saw of her so far today, she seems good enough. Reminds me a little bit of Ken sometimes. And Matt as well."

"Ken, huh?" Joe smirked at that. "Well, if you say so. Even BlackWarGreymon had his soft spots. I admire you for continuing to be so dedicated to defending the accused. It must not be easy."

"It's not. But…justice that doesn't benefit everyone is no justice at all, and there are so many people out there who are confused and could use a second chance. The world is a darker place without a second chance." He dipped his head, his expression becoming somber. "But…yes. It's not easy. I have defended a lot of people and digimon who have thrown that second chance aside."

Seeing the grim expression on Joe's face, the younger man forced a smile.

"Ah! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to darken the mood."

"No, no," Joe shook his head. "Sorry. I've just got a lot on my mind, same as anyone right now. I just…"

The bespectacled man lifted up another piece of beef and looked at it thoughtfully before setting it down with a sigh.

"Darkness…"

Cody lifted an eyebrow.

"Joe?"

"Cody, what would you say the ethics are about breaching patient confidentiality?"

"I…don't understand," Cody said in confusion. "You would know better than me, I would think."

Furrowing his brow, the dark-eyed man set his chopsticks down, looking at his friend carefully.

"Did something happen? Something to do with one of us?"

"Yes," Joe admitted, thinking back on Kari and how Takeru had contacted him about her situation. Kari made him promise not to reveal anything to avoid complicating the situation any more than it already was, yet he couldn't help but feel that it would only _cause_ complications down the road.

_She doesn't want the Tamers to worry, especially Takato, when their attention needed to be on dealing with whatever was behind the attack last night. It makes sense…up to a point. But why not talk to anyone_ else _about it? Why keep them in the dark as well?_

"I see," Cody nodded, thinking carefully. Kari. It had to be Kari. After all, she had been the most recent member of their group to be admitted to the hospital – and under Joe's care – and came out of it with something important to speak to everyone about.

_And she's the one who's had to deal with the darkness the most out of all of us…_

Closing his eyes, Cody took a deep breath, composing himself.

"Once," he began, "you helped me understand that an unyielding moral virtue could cause harm to people. That sometimes lying can save people."

Opening his eyes, he met Joe's eyes carefully.

"Will keeping patient confidentiality hurt people? Maybe even end with them dying?"

Joe was silent for several seconds, during which the only sound that could be heard was that of chewing. Finally, Armadillomon reached forward and took up a couple more slices of beef and popped them in his mouth.

"This is one dark conversation for sure," he said. "Why don't you tell us, Joe?"

"Yeah," Gomamon chimed in. "Tell them. What's the harm really?"

"Loss of trust," Joe sighed. "But…you're right. I can't let other people get hurt either, but…for _now,_ I want this to stay between the two of us. I'll need some help keeping an eye on things, and I can't be here all the time."

"I think I can help with that," Cody nodded. "Now what's going on?"

Opening his mouth, Joe proceeded to tell his friend all that he knew.

**###**

Gatomon adjusted the blanket covering Kari as she lay on her couch, having fallen asleep in front of the TV. Picking off a piece of rice that remained near her mouth, Gatomon took a step back, contemplating her partner before heaving a heavy sigh.

_She looks so peaceful now,_ she thought. _I wish she could be like this more often._

Turning away from the image of quiet restfulness, Gatomon made her way over to the window, peering outward over the illuminated city.

_It's not fair. No matter how many times we beat back the Darkness, it keeps coming back, looking to take away more from us. Just like it took away Patamon and TK._

She closed her eyes, and an image of the Saggitarimon she killed during the V-Pet crisis flashed through her mind. She shivered and her fur began to rise ever so slightly along her back. Even now, it felt like she killed two of her friends.

_Did the Darkness know that when it got that digimon to join it? Just to mess with our heads?_

Her claws curled into her gloved palms, the tension mounting until, finally, with considerable effort, she let go and forced herself to take a deep breath. Turning back to Kari, she made her way back over to her. Brushing back a lock of brown hair, she gave her partner a light kiss on her forehead. Kari stirred slightly, her eyes fluttering open.

"Gatomon…?"

The feline digimon smiled and, wordlessly, climbed onto the couch. Guessing as to what her partner wanted, Kari drew back the covers just enough to allow Gatomon to insert herself and curl up next to the woman's chin. Wrapping an arm around her partner, Kari drew her close, and Gatomon draped her tail over her hand. In the quiet of the night, her tail-ring gleamed, and the pair drifted off to sleep.


	99. Episode 15: Morning

" _Last train to 24th street station arriving in two minutes."_

Fujio sighed over the PA announcer as a drunk man slurred into his shoulder. His balance was bad. _Horribly_ bad in fact. He hated dealing with subway drunkards. They took up so much of his time and when they were sloshed badly enough, were practically helpless to do anything by themselves.

"Let me sit down somewhere…" the drunkard groaned, trying to back away and failing by stumbling toward Fujio.

_A simple day,_ he thought. _I just want a simple day at work, but I can never seem to get that. Oh please… Don't throw up on me at least. I just got my uniform cleaned from the last time._

"Sure, you can sit," he said to the man, taking hold of him gingerly, "but only after you've left here first. Can you walk?"

The drunkard wobbled as if in response, precariously leaning in the direction of the subway tunnel and the rails below. Fujio sighed once more, fearing that the man would upchuck on him or tumble over to the side.

"I don't feel so good," the drunkard groaned. "I didn't think ham was supposed to be yellow, but I thought it might be gourmet."

Fujio raised an eyebrow, perplexed at the man's response. _Is he seriously saying that something he ate is what's disagreeing with him?_

He sniffed the man's breath, searching for the scent of alcohol. Finding none that he could detect, he frowned slightly and glanced to the side, wondering if the man had eaten from the vending machine at the foot of the stairs.

_It wouldn't be the first time someone had a bad experience eating out of that thing. That vending machine belongs in the Museum of Natural History._

Still, if it happened to be the case that the man _did_ eat out of that old vending machine, then it was unlikely that he would be able to walk out of here under his own power. Adjusting his grip on the man, Fujio stabilized him.

"Come on," he said. "Let's get you out of here and to a doctor. I'm sure they can help you out."

The man lifted his eyes up at this, and for a minute Fujio thought he would be complacent and let him be carted off. However, his eyes shot open wide with shock and he jerked away, pointing excitedly over Fujio's shoulder.

"Hey! There's something in the tunnel! I-I-It's a s-snake! S-Snake! A-A huge snake! _G-Giant snake!"_

The man began to struggle, and Fujio growled in frustration and annoyance at this turn of events. Drunk or expired ham sandwich, he still intended to make the job complicated. Just like all the others.

"Yeah right," he replied, missing the cloud of fine mist that was now starting to billow out of the tunnel behind him. "That ham's got you hallucinating too."

_Kami… Why can things_ never _go smooth?_

"I'm not kidding!" the man insisted fervently. "It's got red eyes! Look out!"

The man's struggles only increased in ferocity before finally breaking away, stumbling backward a couple steps before collapsing to the floor with a heavy thud. Fujio adjusted his hat, taking stock of the man's condition before sighing again.

A sigh that echoed in time with a loud hiss, just as a shadow fell over him.

His body went cold in the time it took for an even deeper darkness to fall over him, swallowing him whole. The last thing he heard was the other man's screams and a triumphant hiss.

_"Prey…"_

**###**

Another day found Makuramon seated across from the Matsuki bakery, gazing at the entrance while munching away on a piece of bread stolen from, what he learned it was called, the Day-Old bin. The smaller, rounder human that stood taller than the Tamer (the _only_ visible difference that he could see among the three, save for the Tamers' goggles) had watched him move about the store with suspicion earlier, holding a broom at the ready like some kind of spear.

_I'm going to have to be more discreet about my getting food,_ he thought, tearing off another chunk of bread and devouring it greedily. His appearance, it seemed, was the best he could do under these circumstances. Changing his shape and retaining it _and_ his level demanded far too much energy. Only by the grace of his lord Sovereign did he maintain his power so far, but how much longer that would last, he couldn't be sure.

_I should send a prayer to the Sovereign before too long,_ he thought. _But I must be careful. Such divine providence is bound to attract attention, and I can't afford that._

Tearing off another chunk of bread, he swallowed, wishing that something so good didn't come from humans. It made it hard not to admire them for _something._

_Hurry up human, and do something already,_ he cursed at the Tamer who dwelt within. Patience, which had long been his strong point, was being sorely tested by this Hazard Tamer.

Tearing off another piece of bread, he pretended that it was the human and dutifully maintained his vigilance while he ate.

_I trust Sandiramon is having a better time than I am right now…_

**###**

Sleep. Sweet, deliciously warm sleep, interrupted only by the sound of a ringing phone. Henry ignored it however, drifting back into the darkness' warm embrace, content to let someone else take care of it. Sure enough, the ringing stopped as its calls were _finally_ answered, leaving him in peace.

For a brief spell, at any rate.

He saw a shadow fall behind his closed eyelids, and a light weight danced up and down on his chest.

_"Wakey, wakey, Henry,"_ came the all too familiar voice.

"Terriermon, knock it off…" Henry groaned, scowling in his reluctance to open his eyes, preferring to maintain his grip on whatever vestiges of sleep that he could. However, the call of this particular digimon would not be ignored, and he cracked his lids open, fearing that doing otherwise would cause the Rookie to resort to more drastic efforts to get his attention.

He didn't count on his sister doing just that instead.

"Good _morning!"_ the little girl sang loudly, hoisting Terriermon up into the air like a ragdoll. Henry's heart leapt into his mouth and he just barely restrained himself from bolting up with a startled cry of surprise. The little girl, smiling like a cat, simply squeezed Terriermon tightly to her.

"Wise and shine," she chirped. "Henwy! That angwy kids on the phone again!"

_Angry, huh?_ Henry groaned, drawing his blanket's back and crawling out of bed. _I'll give him angry…_

Chastising himself for the irritated thought, he padded out of his room and made his way over to the phone.

"Takato?" he asked, lifting it up. "Why are you calling so early? This had better be important. It's Sunday."

_"Hey Henry!"_ came the loud, exuberant cry from the other end, startling the boy out from the last remnants of his sleep-addled mind. _"Rise and shine! I was thinking, as Tamers, we should always do our best to try to get the jump on any potential threats."_

"Great…" Henry said in a deadpan voice once he had calmed himself down.

_"Anyway,"_ Takato continued like a rollercoaster, not missing a beat. _"I thought we could all patrol around the city today!"_

Henry winced, the image of his father from that night of the attack, terrified of losing his son, flashing through his mind. Suddenly, reluctance hit him and he glanced away, his eyes moving about the room. His mother, watching a news report about a mysterious disappearance in the subway while Suzie tramped around the apartment, hands clinging to Terriermon's ears while she balanced him atop her head. Thoughts of his responsibilities to them made themselves plain as his gaze settled on the calendar whereupon he found an easy way of resolving his dilemma.

His lessons with Chou Sensei, his martial arts instructor.

"Uh…I'd like to but…I've…uh…I've got other plans. Sorry."

_"Huh? Oh."_ Disappointment came down through the phone. _"Okay. Well, another time then. Good luck today."_

"Thanks. Later." With that, Henry hung up, feeling like a heel for doing so, even though he had an excuse.

Setting the phone on the hook, Henry turned back toward his room.

_Might as well get dressed, since I'm already up,_ he thought gloomily, wishing once more that life wasn't so complicated.

**###**

Rika glanced in the direction of her mother's room as she ate her miso soup. Across from her, her grandmother sipped at her tea, eyeing Rika in quiet contemplation. It stood as no surprise to the elder woman that Rika wasn't happy that her mother brought Davis home again, and even had him spend the night once more. She made that painstakingly clear when she first discovered their relationship.

Which made today's little outing as good a reason as any to get out of the house to avoid another argument.

_I still can't believe Mom got together with that…_ Gogglehead _of all people,_ she thought irritably before scowling at her food.

"Something the matter, dear?" Seiko asked, causing the girl to look up at her before returning her attention to her meal.

"I'm fine," she said deadpan, though she knew it was a lie. She told herself that she didn't care who her mother brought home, yet for some reason she found it needling at her. Was it because of her father, who still remained gone; disappeared into the digital world, leaving behind not one but _two_ families? Did it bother her that she had moved on from the man just as much as he moved on from her?

_Did my parents ever really love each other?_ a part of her quietly wondered. _Is Davis going to be Dad's replacement?_

She dismissed the thought and pushed her soup to the side. She didn't want to go down that route.

"I'm just not as hungry as I thought I was," she said, getting up from the table.

"All right, dear." Seiko pressed her lips together with a touch of worry, but chose not to comment on Rika's sudden lack of appetite. "We can pick something up later if you're hungry then."

A small smile touched the corners of the woman's face just then as a thought occurred to her. "Maybe you can show me that bakery you went to before."

Rika made a face, considering protesting on the grounds that she preferred her grandmother having as little contact with the _other_ Gogglehead in her life as possible, but before she could do just that, the sound of the phone ringing caught her attention.

"Would you go get that, dear?" Seiko asked, getting up with a slight grunt. "I'll take care of your bowl."

"Fine," Rika sighed, padding on over to the phone and picking it up off the hook. Whoever it was, she hoped it would be good. She _really_ wasn't in the mood to be taking messages.

"Hello?" she answered, doing her best to be polite.

_"Morning, Rika!"_ came the oddly excited reply from Takato, causing Rika to press her lips together.

_Speak of the Gogglehead…_ she frowned.

"What do you want?" she asked bluntly, deciding to cut to the chase. The boy paused, his voice losing some of its excited edge at her tone.

_"I've been thinking about what we should do first as Tamers,"_ he explained, his excitement remaining, as if determined not to lose its confidence. _"What do you say, Rika? Are you ready for a patrol around the city? The weather's perfect!"_

Patrol around the city? Perfect weather? Once upon a time, as little as yesterday in fact, she would have been fine with it, but for some reason the very notion of the proposition – coming from Takato no less – caused a flash of irritation to run through her as a light blush touched her cheeks.

_Better put this down before it goes too far…_

"Not today," Rika replied, not even taking a second to think about it. "I'm about to go out with my grandmother."

As if to drive the point home, she hung up without so much as a goodbye.

"Who was it, Rika?" Seiko asked, stepping into the hall.

"No one," the girl shrugged, her expression more neutral than her heart at the moment. "I'm ready to head out whenever you are."

Seiko smiled. "I'm looking forward to seeing what you think about today's play. I think you'll like it."

**###**

"Man, what's up with both of them?" Takato wondered aloud, setting the phone back on the hook once it became clear that Rika had hung up on him. "They're so unmotivated."

_I thought that after yesterday, they would have been up for a little patrol. Especially Rika. I can't even remember the last time she turned down the chance at fighting a digimon._

The boy sighed mentally.

_Well, they did say that they both had plans, so I can't blame them for that._

"Takato!" came the call of his mother from the bakery section. "There's some friends here to see you! They're at the front door!"

"Huh?" The boy's eyebrows rose up in surprise, trying to think of who could be here. For an instant, his imagination conjured up images of Rika, transported by Renamon, and Henry, having biked here, the two of them having felt guilty for leaving him by himself to patrol the city. He quickly dismissed the notion, seeing it for the craziness that it was, but still, the question remained.

Who could it be?

Making his way into the bakery, his eyes widened even further as Mie pointed him in the direction of the main entrance, where stood a large group of kids, the familiar visor of Kazu visible past the bread insignia on the door. Heading on over, he could scarcely maintain his surprise as the door slid open, revealing his classmates for him to see.

"Huh? It's you guys!" he breathed in amazement. It wasn't just Kazu. Kenta and Jeri were there as well, and more. Ayaka, Miki, Yuji, Jeremy and Tadashi also. This…was _far_ from what he expected. Ayaka and Miki struck him as especially unexpected, as they had never really been his friends as much as acquaintances; particularly Miki, who teased him about playing the digimon game regularly.

And yet, there they were, both with bright, eager smiles on their faces along with the others who played the game almost as much as he, Kazu and Kenta did.

"Hey, Takato," Kenta spoke up a touch nervously. "Uh…We were just in the neighborhood."

The boy lapsed into silence after that, and Jeri glanced around. Upon seeing that no one else was willing to volunteer an explanation for the presence of so many people – some of whom hadn't been Takato's friend before – she shifted on her feet before speaking up.

"Uh… They want to meet Guilmon," she supplied. "Is that okay?"

Takato shook himself mentally, still unable to believe so many people were here, and even more so that they knew about Guilmon. Kazu, he suspected. He highly doubted Jeri would have said anything, though he realized he never said anything about keeping Guilmon a secret.

Takato groaned. Whoever it was that spilled the secret of Guilmon's existence, he made the bed, so he might as well lie in it.

"Yeah, sure. Whatever."

_I just hope his being a Hazard digimon doesn't cause any problems…_

**###**

Takato led them through the winding paths of the park and up the stairs that led to Guilmon's home, his heart full of trepidation about the reaction that he might get by showing them his partner. Memories of Kazu and Kenta's reaction – in addition to a crowd of terrified bystanders throwing rocks at him – flashed through his mind, but he steeled himself, wanting to believe that things would work out for the best. After all, Jeri took to Guilmon immediately, and Kazu and Kenta came around once they got over their fright – and Kazu's own jealousy. Yuji, Tadashi and Jeremy all liked digimon as well, so there shouldn't be too much to worry about…right? That left Ayaka and Miki, but they both seemed eager and not the least bit afraid.

A good sign, he hoped, approaching the gate and unlatching it.

"Guilmon!" he called. "You up, boy?"

"Takato?" came the voice from within, and the crimson reptile stepped into the light. His golden eyes lit up upon seeing the others behind his Tamer, and he sniffed the air to catch their scent. "Oh! You brought more friends!"

Stepping to the side, he pulled open the door and smiled.

"Everyone, this is Guilmon. Guilmon, meet everyone."

"Wow…" Jeremy whispered as each of the new children stared in awe at the sight of the digital lifeform. Takato's eyes flickered over to Ayaka and Miki, but for the moment they remained just as transfixed as the others.

"Amazing… I've never seen one up close," he heard Ayaka breathe, while Miki nodded in return.

"I almost can't believe it…" she added, and Takato smiled in understanding at that. Even today, he still couldn't believe that Guilmon was real and even more, _his_ partner. It all felt like it was out of some bizarre dream.

_Which…it was,_ he thought, chuckling mentally.

Once everyone had a moment to digest Guilmon's reality, Kazu stepped forward and turned around, hands planted on his hips.

"There you have it, people," he proclaimed proudly. "I told you so, and you didn't believe me. See, a _real_ digimon. He's pretty cool, huh?"

_Well, that explains how they found out about him,_ Takato thought, furrowing his brow at his friend as the other kids began to crowd around Guilmon. Still, what was done, was done. All that was left was to ride it out and hope for the best. Turning to Jeri, he grinned playfully.

_"Cool,_ Jeri, not cute," he said to her, to which the girl giggled.

"Whatever," she returned, holding one hand up to her mouth to cover her giggling.

"They can call me anything they want as long as they brought any peanut butter," Guilmon said as Kenta began to rub his snout. "Takato's friends are my friends."

Still giggling, Jeri thrust her sock puppet at the dinosaur and _woofed_ at him playfully. Laughing, Guilmon returned the bark, causing all the children to break out into laughter.

However, Takato's laughter held a touch of nerves to it as he watched Jeri begin to play with the digimon, continuing to bark at him. A light blush tinged his cheeks as his heart skipped a beat, and from it, whispered a single word.

_Cute…_

"Listen up!" Kazu started, once everyone had had their opportunity to pet the dinosaur. "Guilmon is our secret! Anyone who blabs has to answer to me! Now that that's said, let's have some fun with him!"

All hands thrust up into the air as the kids cried out in agreement.


	100. Episode 15: Play

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While writing this chapter, I began researching Noh theater, as Rika visits the Yarai Noh Theater with her grandmother, hoping to find what play it was that they saw. Unfortunately, I have not been able to find the precise play and was only able to find a small number of plays, and fragmentary ones for the vast majority of them, with which to connect the visual evidence to. As such, I am presently unable to provide a decent, accurate portrayal of the scene in question and in particular of Noh theater (especially important due to my serious lack of experience and knowledge of Noh theater). I will, however, do my best with the information I currently have. I've chosen to keep the play vague, but with some influences from Kokaji (the Swordsmith) as it contains a fox spirit
> 
> Now on with the fic! :D

The sun filtered in through Cody's hotel room as he brushed his shirt down, a crisp, clean, button-up affair of light grey. The news droned on in the background; something about an incident in the subway. The government had sealed the area of the incident off and was rerouting traffic. Cody frowned slightly as he took up his jacket and slipped it on, wondering if there was any meaning behind it.

"Do you think a digimon was involved?" Armadillomon asked from the bed, clearly thinking along the same lines as he.

Turning, Cody glanced at the news, reading off the screen briefly before returning his attention to his partner.

"If there is, it looks like it's already being handled," he said. "It's not up to us to go charging in there after all."

"I know," Armadillomon pouted, folding his arms under his chin. "But with everything that's going on around this city, it feels like we should be kept up to date about this. Maybe we should go see Ken and Davis, see what they know about it."

He turned away from the television and looked up at Cody expectantly.

"You're not going to go on about what the law says are you?"

"And we just had a conversation with Joe yesterday about whether we should follow rules to the letter no matter what," Cody said, furrowing his brow. "But at this point, we have no choice. The government is handling something that might not even be digimon related and they're better equipped than we are at the present. We'd only get in the way and cause unnecessary alarm, especially since you can't hide and are pretty easily noticeable. The best any of us can do right now is respond if and when the situation gets out of hand."

"Sure wish Izzy's old program that let us walk around the city behind screens wasn't made illegal," Armadillomon grumped with a pout. "I could hide pretty easily that way."

"Well, you can't, so there's no point in talking about it. In either case, for now it doesn't have anything to do with us and it _might_ not be digimon related at all, so let's not jump to conclusions."

"Yeah… Okay," Armadillomon nodded, albeit reluctantly. Cody glanced at him sympathetically. Like all the digimon, the war had affected him deeply. There were, simply put, some things that couldn't be set aside as easily, even for someone like Armadillomon, who tended to be a rather gentle soul. Cody could see the dilemma in him, a dilemma he had seen repeated over the years as he defended all manner of people accused of various crimes.

_Maybe exploring the city will help him a little bit today._

Making sure he had all his things, he nodded to his partner.

"Come on, Armadillomon. It's a nice day today. Let's have a little bit of fun today. And some food."

At the mere mention of food, Armadillomon's eyes perked up and he hopped off the bed. Cody smiled at this and together they headed toward the door to experience whatever Sunday had in store for them.

_Nothing makes a digimon happier than food and fun,_ he thought. _Especially food._

**###**

Rika had hoped that the Noh play would distract her from her thoughts, and it did, but not in the way that she hoped. The idea of her mother dating the elder _Gogglehead_ didn't sit well with her, and she was able to lose herself in the play in that regard, and yet, she still felt unsettled.

The central character shared her unsettlement, but was far more aware of the source. In the play, the central character was stuck between two forces; a task he had been ordered by the Emperor to do and the need for a partner of equal ability with which to successfully see it through to the end. Without such a person, the central character was doomed to failure, and yet they had to find a way. The whole thing seemed impossible, and Rika let out a soft, disappointed sigh, wishing she could enjoy it as much as her grandmother appeared to be doing.

But she couldn't. Even without the issue of her mother tugging at the back of her mind, she still found herself distracted in other areas. Thoughts of destiny, the 'Trinity Prophecy' and the arrival of the Devas that appeared bent on enslaving humanity bubbled up from the depths of her mind. She hated the uncertainty of the whole thing. She remembered saying how from now on, her battles would have meaning. No more fighting for the sake of absorbing data was certain, but what meaning was there?

What meaning _could_ there be, for that matter, if it was all decided in the end?

The play continued, her troubled thoughts following the lead character as he prayed to the god, Inari, asking for aid. Rika wanted to snort at that but before she could do so, an actor suddenly leapt into view from the side, and upon landing on his feet, brought his arms together and let out a loud howl. Rika sat up, eyes wide, her attention fixated on this actor. He wore a fur suit of brown and an animal facemask. A dog…or a fox? Rika wasn't entirely sure just yet, but immediately it brought to mind her kitsune partner. As she watched, the actor announced themselves as a representative spirit of Inari, and that he would become the lead character's partner.

Immediately a mental image of Renamon came to mind; Renamon, fighting IceDevimon, her former ally, despite the vast gulf in power between them. Renamon, collapsing under the beating she was receiving, and only evolving when she, Rika herself, admitted to herself what she had denied for so long. And then, after denying her friendship with Renamon once more, she charged to the kitsune's defense against Harpymon, armed with nothing more than a sharp stick. The memories continued to come, before culminating in the disastrous battle against Mihiramon, whose last, devastating blow against her partner forced her out of her Champion form and sent her plummeting to the streets below, shattering the concrete upon impact. How she had reached out, hesitating for only a second, her old fears surfacing, before finally coming to rest on her partner's dirty, golden fur.

Rika felt the raw emotion surge through her, and shivered before settling back into her seat. Seeing this, Seiko turned toward her, a touch of concern in her eyes.

"Is everything all right, dear?"

"Yeah," Rika nodded, rubbing at her arms as she felt the prickling of her skin beginning to die down. "I was just a bit cold, that's all."

**###**

"Kazu… Why did you tell them about Guilmon?"

"Huh?" The brown-haired, visor-wearing boy turned toward his shorter, goggle-wearing friend with a raised eyebrow. After a moment, he shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I figured that it might be a good idea to let our group know since they're into digimon too. You know, just in case that they can help you when you need an excuse to ditch school for taming, or give you modify cards to beat up the bad guys with."

"But…why Ayaka and Miki?" Takato pointed over at the two girls as they laughed at Guilmon as he walked about on his hands, balancing his bulky body precariously, a vast improvement from when he first made the attempt months ago. "I mean, I guess Ayaka I can understand since she hangs out with us from time to time, but… Miki?" Takato scratched the side of his face in confusion. "It wasn't all that long ago that she was making fun of us for liking digimon."

"So did Jeri and you still told her," Kazu observed with a raised eyebrow that was flanked by a humorous grin.

"Hey, she happened to overhear us arguing about Guilmon." Leaning back on the grass, Takato allowed a small smile to cross his features. "Man, who knew Jeri was into digimon? I guess it makes sense though. For a while she was into tarot cards, so digimon must have been a jump away or something."

"Maybe," Kazu shrugged. "She's always been as crazy as a fruit bat. Liking digimon's got to be the most normal thing I've seen her like." He paused for a moment, seeing Takato shoot him a sharp glare. "What?" he continued. "I'm just telling it like it is. You used to think the same thing too."

"Yeah… Well… Maybe it was a stupid thing to think," Takato grumbled. "We sure looked pretty weird to her and her friends."

"We still do," Kazu laughed. "And I still think she's pretty weird, but… As long as she likes digimon, then she's okay in my book."

Takato allowed a small smile to grace his lips as his eyes fell on the puppet-loving brunette as she _woofed_ at Guilmon upon the Rookie's inevitable fall.

"Hey guys, look what I found!" came the voice of Kenta as he came running from out of a wooded section of the park, pushing a grocery cart. Everyone's eyes lit up at it as Kenta continued, beaming happily at his discovery. "Let's put Guilmon inside and wheel him around!"

Takato exchanged a grin with Kazu. "And you were saying _Jeri_ was weird?"

"Hey, I'm not saying weird can't be a good thing," the taller boy laughed, climbing to his feet. "Now let's go crazy and have some fun!"

Helping Guilmon into the cart proved to be a difficult challenge – the Rookie being rather heavy after all – but the children, working as a team with the digimon, quickly managed it.

"Man," Kazu breathed, wiping his arm over his brow while Guilmon settled himself into the steel cage on wheels. "What are you feeding this guy, Chumley."

"Peanut butter and lots of bread," Takato replied with a goofy grin. "I can't claim credit for the peanut butter though. That was Henry's fault."

"Did someone say peanut butter and bread?" Guilmon asked, his ears perking up excitedly at the prospect of food. Shaking his head, Kazu thumbed the rim of his visor.

"Let's get pushing before he decides to eat that grocery cart." Clapping Takato on the shoulder, he smirked. "You first, Chumley. He's your partner."

"Thanks, Kazu," the goggle-wearing boy laughed as he took hold of the cart and immediately shoved his partner forward. As with lifting him up into it, it was hard to get going, but once they got going, it was relatively easy to keep a good pace. The other children were quick to fall into a race beside him, easily keeping pace.

"Catch Guilmon!" Takato heard Jeri call out with a happy laugh. Takato felt something spark inside him at that; excitement as the game rapidly seemed to devolve into one of keep away. Almost immediately, one of the other boys made a play at 'tagging' Guilmon's cart, but Takato swerved away before turning down a grassy path, pumping his legs in an effort to stay away. They weren't going to catch him. They weren't…

_Huh?_ Takato blinked as he caught sight of something out of the corner of his eye; a familiar, oval-shaped head, bland, flat and almost completely devoid of features beyond eyes and a wide mouth.

_Is that the kid from the playgrou… Whoa!_

Takato, in his distraction, took a turn too sharply, and Guilmon's weight, coupled with gravity, took care of the rest, sending them both careening off to the side, causing Guilmon to spill out and roll off, crashing into a tree. Rather than hurt, the large Rookie broke out into laughter, which was quickly taken up by the children, relieved to see that he was fine.

"Are you all right, Takato?" Jeri asked, approaching the boy as he climbed to his feet. Feeling a little self-conscious under the girl's amber gaze, Takato distracted himself by glancing away and dusting off his shorts.

"Oh yeah," he chuckled nervously. "It's nothing we haven't done before. I take spills like that all the time."

"Not exactly something to brag about Casanova," Kazu smirked, causing Takato's face to burn bright red in embarrassment, becoming almost like his partner from the sheer intensity. Before Takato could say or do anything else, there came a loud, crowing voice.

"You…are _pathetic!"_

His crimson eyes swiveling, Takato found the familiar form of Impmon standing on a tree branch, leaning against the bark of its proud owner, a disgusted look on his face.

"You should be ashamed of yourself, Pineapple Head!" he exclaimed, disappointment shining in his emerald eyes. "I bet you think you're _real_ cute playing with all these kiddies, don't cha?" His mouth twisting into a snarl, Impmon stabbed a gloved finger at the Rookie.

"You're nothing but a trained _monkey!_ Ba-boom!"

"Monkey? Did someone use… _monkey_ as an _insult?"_ came another voice from off to the side, and all eyes turned in the direction of the newcomer, and Takato's eyes widened, seeing that he _hadn't_ been wrong earlier.

_"You…"_ he said under his breath, the 'boy' with the flat, featureless face emerged from the woods, his eyes narrowed and angry looking. Takato shivered, seeing them. He couldn't quite place it, but there was something about those eyes that sat… _wrong_ with him. He remembered wondering before if the 'boy' were a digimon trying to disguise itself as a human.

_It's…not doing a very good job at it,_ he thought,

"Takato? Do you know these guys?" Jeri asked, inching closer to the goggle-wearing boy, a touch of concern and worry in her voice at the presence of the unexpected strangers.

"Yeah… Well, one of them, unfortunately," Takato said, glancing back at the diminutive Rookie, who pulled down the bottom of one eye derisively. "I don't know about the other guy, but do yourself a favor and try to ignore the one on the tree."

"The name's _Impmon,_ not the _One on the Tree,"_ the dark Rookie scowled. Snorting, Kazu planted his hands on his hips and glared back.

"That dude definitely has the look of a bad guy."

"Of course he does," the odd-faced 'boy' said with a slight twitter to his voice. "Demon Lords like him are easy to identify."

"Demon Lord?" Takato turned back toward the stranger, and Guilmon sniffed the air, feeling the air growing tense about him.

"Takato… He's a digimon too!"

"Awful disguise," quipped Kazu. "What kind of outfit is that? Your aunt buy you that look for Christmas or something?"

The odd-faced boy simply tilted his head to one side before returning his attention to Impmon, who squirmed a little under the digimon's attention.

"You got a problem with me, big-face?"

The odd-faced digimon's mouth split open into a wide smile.

"No. I was thinking about loading your data, but now I believe the human has the right of it for once. It's better to ignore someone as small and weak such as yourself." He snickered. "I hope you're enjoying your new lease on life, Demon Lord."

"Hold on," interrupted Takato. "Why are you calling him a 'Demon Lord?' Impmon's not as bad as that and they're all locked away. Who are you?"

The strange digimon locked eyes with Takato, smiling all the while. A long, tense silence fell amongst the group before finally the stranger erupted with a loud screeching, _"Makaaah!",_ startling the children, and then tore off, laughing loudly like a hyena into the woods of the park.

"Man… Someone _really_ needs to cut back on the caffeine," Kazu said, trying to settle his rapidly beating heart. "Why is it today we're meeting all these weird digimon with attitude problems?"

Impmon glowered in the direction of the strange-faced digimon before snapping his attention down at Kazu. Anger thrummed inside his digital breast, but after a moment, he mastered himself and leaned casually against the tree once more, feigning amusement over the whole series of events.

"Oh please! You've hurt my precious little feelings! Like I really care about what some knucklehead toddler and his playmates think about me. I think I'm going to cry now!"

"Whatever," Kazu returned. "It's not like we have time for hanging out with someone if they're going to be a baby about it. Come on, everyone. Let's get away from the weirdness and back to having fun!"

"Yeah!" cried the children as one, save for Takato, who looked at Impmon quizzically. Seeing this, Impmon stamped his foot angrily.

"Somethin' the matter, Pineapple Head?" he shouted down. "Your eyes stuck on my sheer awesomeness?"

"Impmon…" began the boy. "Why did that digimon call you a Demon Lord?"

"Who cares?" Impmon shouted at him. "Not me! Now turn your ugly face somewhere else before I puke!"

"Takato?" Jeri spoke up from behind him, one hand brushing against his before retreating quickly, a light blush touching her cheeks as she did so. "He doesn't seem to be very friendly. Why don't we do what you suggested and ignore him, okay?"

"Hmmm…" Takato looked between the two for a moment, having missed Jeri's touch in his focus on Impmon, before nodding in reluctant agreement. "All right. Let's go."

"Guilmon… What a maroon," Impmon _harrumphed_ as he watched the children retreat a short way off over to where Kenta and Guilmon now were, the bespectacled boy stuffing the dinosaur's nostrils with rolled up balls of paper. "I can't believe he would allow those humans to treat him like some kind of carnival sideshow. I wouldn't be caught _dead_ with those losers."

"It looks to me like you _are_ with them."

Spinning about in shock and surprise, Impmon's emerald eyes fell on one, golden-furred kitsune digimon as she stood on a branch directly behind him, a small, amused smile on her face.

"How _dare_ you sneak up on me like that?!" Impmon demanded heatedly, his fists clenching tightly. "

Renamon chuckled. "I was just in the neighborhood and I saw your little talk with the kiddies down there and it made me _think…"_

Impmon straightened up, anger sparking across his senses, already getting an idea where the vulpine digimon was going with this.

_Tsking,_ he decided to play dumb. "What are you blabbing about?"

"I think you're _jealous_ of him," Renamon replied, her small smile, barely visible, teasing the diminutive Rookie. "Why else would someone so disgusted by those kids spend such a beautiful afternoon watching them? I don't know. Food for thought. See you later."

With a chuckle, Renamon bounded away into the woods, rapidly vanishing from view. _This_ caused Impmon to snap. Casting all pretense away, he slammed a foot down on the branch angrily.

"Wait! Where you going?! I'm not done with you! Hey! Fox face! Come back and fight with me!"

Impmon's pulse pounded furiously as rage surged through him, and then his vision swam, and with it, a voice floated up from his unconsciousness.

_"Where…am I?"_ he heard it say in confusion, his emerald gaze swinging down to his gloved hands, and with it came the sense of _presence,_ fleeting, but brief, and within a moment, it was gone.

**###**

Renamon bounded away, leaving Impmon's angry declarations far behind, amusement flittering through her mind for a moment before turning to focus on her goal; that of the strange digimon who just now visited Takato and his friends. She had been out and about while Rika was with her grandmother, exploring the city and observing the humans as they went about their daily lives, when she suddenly detected an unusual presence in the park. Quickly making her way to it, she found the strange 'child,' only to realize it was anything but that. A digimon in disguise without question, and a good one that had actually shielded its presence until it revealed itself carelessly to Impmon, brought out it seemed by something he had said.

_Monkey… Was that what it was?_ Renamon narrowed her eyes, wondering what sort of digimon it could be. That it shielded itself didn't quite concern her – many digimon in the real world did much the same, herself included – but that it had been observing Takato and his friends did, and its statement about Impmon…

_He called him a Demon Lord,_ she thought, her brow narrowing in curiosity. _Could he be one?_

Her knowledge of the Demon Lords was limited. She could only say with utter certainty that two – Lucemon and Belphemon – were sealed away while others were either dead or remained unaccounted for – as the former case was with Beelzemon. She tried to think of what might have become of the others. Daemon, Lilithmon, Barbamon, Leviamon… Vanished from all records that the Nightmare Soldiers were aware of, though Apocalymon would only reveal what he felt was necessary.

_Impmon…_ His presence in the Nightmare Soldiers had always been a mystery. He had never been a particularly strong digimon, offering little in the way of ability save for annoying others and pulling pranks. What reason _could_ Apocalymon have needed to bring him into his army?

_Certainly not for canon fodder,_ she thought, bounding off a tree branch, her azure eyes sweeping about, guided by her senses. _He rarely recruited unless he thought one had potential for great strength._

Answers to her inquiries eluded her, but the strange digimon on the other hand didn't. The digimon was attempting to shield itself again, but Renamon's senses kept a strong fix on it.

_As long as I engage it soon enough before it completes its shrouding… There!_

Renamon burst through the brush, catching the oval-headed digimon off guard. Landing in front of it, she struck a combat stance, arms raised, claws closed into fists. Drawing up short, the oval-headed digimon glowered, baring its teeth at her.

"Nightmare Soldier…" it seethed. "I smell its stink on you."

"Once, but no more," Renamon soothed, opening her paws in a placating manner. "Rest assured, that I mean no harm to you, as long as you mean none towards this city or the world. Might I ask who you are and why you were watching those children?"

The odd-faced digimon simply raised one hand, and a pearl-like orb materialized in his palm.

"I don't have to answer to you," he snickered before rearing back and hurling the sphere at Renamon. _"Primal Orb!"_

Renamon's eyes shot open at the speed of the attack, and she narrowly managed to duck to the side, the attack smashing into the tree behind her, shattering it and sending innumerable splinters flying through the air. The digimon moved like a monkey, dancing backward with an easy grace that Renamon couldn't help but admire.

_Powerful,_ she thought, climbing to her feet.

"That was rude," she berated. "Tell me, is this how you greet everyone you meet?"

Leaping up onto a tree branch, the digimon grinned maniacally.

"I do with Nightmare Soldiers," it laughed, crouching in its spot like a spider. "It's a lucky thing for you that you met me like this." Lifting one arm, another pearl formed in its palm. "Otherwise, you wouldn't be able to live long enough to feel anything."

With another cry of _Primal Orb,_ the digimon hurled its attack once more, and it flew through the air with the speed of a bullet, smashing into the ground where Renamon stood, sending both her and the earth below flying through the air with a tumultuous explosion.


	101. Episode 15: The Battle Beneath

" _Where…am I?"_

_Better question, who was that?_

Impmon massaged his ears, his green eyes wincing as he thought back to the strange sensation of _presence_ that accompanied the strange voice in his head.

_Great,_ he thought irritably. _First my dreams get all weird, and now I'm hearing voices in my head. I must be going mental from all the stress of watching these digi-dodos playing as pets to their humans._

Renamon's words _burned_ in him. Jealous… _Jealous?!_ What was there to be jealous about? There was no way that Guilmon could look any more ridiculous, performing like some kind of trained monkey, spitting wads of paper from his nostrils and laughing with the snot-nosed brats like it was the best thing in the world.

_It's like they all had their brains eaten by Calumon or something. Bunch of pineapple heads…_

His ears twitched, and he sat up, his emerald eyes scowling. Looking around, he spotted a plume of smoke rising a short way off in the distance, small and thin, barely noticeable, like the sound of the explosion. He glanced over at the kiddies and Guilmon, taking note that they were too engrossed in their playtime to even notice it as he had.

_That looks like the direction fox-face took off in,_ he thought before shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly, returning his attention to the humans and their game. _Oh well. Serves her right for making fun of me._

**###**

Renamon somersaulted onto a tree branch, breathing heavily as the dirt and debris kicked up by the explosion fell to the ground below. Her senses stretched outward, attempting to locate the monkey digimon, and found that he was rapidly putting distance between them. Zeroing in on him, she leapt into the air, breaking through the smoke and bounding through the park's forest, her azure eyes darting first this way and then that, her mind working rapidly as she plotted out the swiftest course to intercept the digimon.

_Who are you?_ she wondered, pushing herself to the limit in order to make up for the distance between them. _You know about the Nightmare Soldiers and you referred to Impmon as a Demon Lord. You can't be just_ any _digimon._

The thought of the strange digimon being a Deva occurred to her, or perhaps a scout for them. It made sense. After all, their first foray into the human world had been rebuffed, and by an unexpected digivolution by a Hazard digimon.

Her brow furrowed at that. _Now that I think about it… Could he have been spying on Takato and Guilmon?_

As if to prove her right, her eyes widened as her senses detected her quarry changing course, this time circling _back_ toward the group of children. She changed course to intercept him. Branches made no sound as she bound from one to the other until…

_There you are!_

Bursting through a thick tangle of leaves, she slammed headlong into the monkey digimon just as he landed on a branch, sending him barreling through the air with a cry of _"Makaaah!"_ Unlike her, his surprise at having been so badly caught off guard, he was unable to recover, and crashed into the trunk of the tree, causing its top to snap in two, where he tumbled to the ground below.

"Now that you've seen that you can't lose me so easily," the vulpine digimon said, padding along the branch, her gaze remaining fixed on the monkey digimon as he climbed back to his feet, "will you tell me why you were watching those children?"

The monkey drew a hand across his mouth, wiping dirt off of it before summoning another _Primal Orb._

"And I told you, I don't have to answer to you. You have good senses for a Nightmare Soldier." His eyes narrowed, his feet shifting. "I underestimated you. But rest assured, I _won't_ make that same mistake a second time."

With a flick of his wrist, almost faster than Renamon's eyes could follow, the orb surged toward the kitsune, and she threw herself to the side, narrowly dodging it as it smashed through the tree, sending splinters of wood flying through the air.

She had just enough time to see the monkey abruptly appear above her, a wild grin on his too-wide face before his foot slammed into her side, sending her rocketing to the ground with ferocious force. Pain exploded across her body as she just barely rolled onto one knee, attempting to recover from the blow. Powerful… Unbelievably _powerful._

_That kick just now felt almost like Mihiramon's,_ she thought, clutching at her side as she swung her eyes about, looking for her quarry. _And he was_ still _holding back. I…_

Suddenly the monkey was there, in front of her, still smirking. His hand shot out and grabbed her by the throat, fingers wrapping around her windpipe and squeezing tightly. Black spots burst across Renamon's vision as she gagged, already struggling to break free, but in her current state, she could do little, except, it seemed, to amuse her opponent.

"I could remove you from the board with just a thought," he grinned, jerking her close and squeezing all the more tightly. "I _would_ too, but under different circumstances…" He grimaced. "Makaaah… Well, that would be telling too much. I'm going to have to settle for making you fall asleep. Like I said, you're _lucky_ to have met me, but _only_ because circumstances are different."

His fingers tightened their grip and Renamon kicked out at him, slamming her foot into his crotch, eliciting only a slight flinch from the digimon.

"You're not strong enough for _that,"_ he growled. "Now knock it off and go to sle…"

_"Diamond Shell!"_

The call resounded across the air, and in the next moment, the monkey digimon staggered as Armadillomon, curled up into a tight ball, crashed into the small of his back and rebounded away. Swinging around furiously, Renamon drawing in a loud gasp of air as his fingers loosened around her throat, his eyes lighted upon the yellow, armored Rookie, who uncurled and fell into a fighting stance.

"An _ancient_ digimon now?" he growled.

"I don't know who you are, but that's dirty fighting," Armadillomon glowered, rising onto his back feet and lifting his arms. "What're the two of you getting all roughhouse here for?"

In response, the monkey-digimon simply hurled a _Primal Orb_ at the Rookie, who just barely rolled to the side. As he did so, an orb of light surged from behind a tree and quickly connected with the Rookie just as he came to a stop, setting him ablaze with a furious glow. His body expanded, insect-like armor forming over him. Great drills emerged from his paws and snout as the light died down.

_"Armadillomon!"_ he called out. _"Armor digivolve tooo… Digmon! The Drill of Knowledge!"_

"Oh…Makaaah…" the monkey groaned. While he was far from worried about his new opponent's digivolution, this was getting out of hand and he could not afford to draw more attention to him. Releasing his grip on Renamon, he vaulted backward into the air, landing on a branch and then taking off again, disappearing into the depths of the park. Rolling to her knees, Renamon coughed, drawing in sweet air. The black spots that dotted her vision were rapidly vanishing, but her head still swam.

"Are you all right?" Digmon asked as Cody appeared from behind a tree and hurried on over to her.

"I'll…be fine," she panted, nodding to the Armor in thanks for his timely intervention. "Thank you. It would appear that digimon was more powerful than I had suspected."

"Who was he?" Cody asked, dropping down to one knee next to her so that they were more at eye level. "I've never seen a digimon like that before."

"I don't know," the vulpine digimon replied with a shake of her head. "But it's clear that he's not like any of the other digimon living in the city. I found him spying on Takato and his friends… They're up that way." Lifting one paw shakily, she pointed in the direction she found the goggle-wearing boy and his companions.

"Spying?" Cody asked, perplexed. "Did he have anything to do with the Devas, do you think?"

However, before Renamon could reply, her ears twitched and she abruptly rose to her feet, her earlier battle-fatigue and injuries momentarily forgotten in the moment.

"Rika is in danger!" she exclaimed, her fur bristling suddenly. Crouching down, she launched herself into the air, and disappeared, leaving a bewildered Cody and Digmon to stare at the bright blue sky.

"She could have at least told us _where_ she was heading," Digmon said after the pair had shaken off their surprise.

"Enough of that," Cody said. "We need to get going and find out where she's off too . It can't be too far, and if Takato and his partner are nearby like she said, then we'll be able to locate her."

"And if not," began Digmon as they began to hustle, "we can rely on the old tried and true method. Follow the screams."

Cody groaned.

"I swear, Gomamon was a bad influence on you during the war…"

**###**

Rumiko sighed and rolled over in her bed, bumping against Davis' arm. Smiling at its presence, she pushed up against it, snaking an arm over his bare chest and snuggling closer. She felt the temperature of his skin rise, and she had to repress a giggle. To think that he could still get embarrassed over things like sleeping in the same bed – even without the intimacy of lovemaking – was nothing short of a miracle in her eyes, given that they had both lost their virginity to one another years ago when they were still in high school. This was hardly their first night together either. Still, she found that she rather liked the reaction. It had a certain… _magic_ to it that brought back old memories from their early love for one another. It almost made her feel like she was back in those days, before their breakup. Before the War. Before Spencer.

_Not that Spencer was a bad man,_ she thought, massaging her hand along Davis' chest. _But he lacks a lot of the innocence that I found charming in Davis._

She sighed again, this time with a touch of regret, thinking back on the past and the decisions they made. If she hadn't broken up with Davis and married Spencer so quickly…

_Everyone said we were too young and moving too fast. In a way, they were right. If I had just been a little more thoughtful…_

Her mind paused, thinking of Rika, and she curled her fingers together, not sure if she liked where that train of thought was going.

_I didn't even spend time with her like I had wanted…_ she thought continuing to trace a finger along his chest, realizing how selfish she had been, latching onto Davis like she had and bringing him home with her.

_But…he looked like he needed someone to be with…_

Turning toward her, Davis slipped an arm around her back, and her violet-eyes fluttered open, gazing into his deep, brown ones.

"Everything all right?" he asked. Rumiko smiled softly, allowing her fingers to crawl up his chest and along his neck like a spider before lingering on his chin.

"Of course," she said, leaning forward and kissing him gently on the lips. "You do know how to show a girl a good time, just like always." She brought her lips down to his chin and kissed him there as well, ignoring the bristles of his morning stubble. "You've learned quite a _lot_ since we broke up."

Davis blushed lightly at that, and she once again repressed a giggle. The ghost of the innocent Davis she knew was still there, despite all the scars adulthood had given him.

"I can't take credit for that," Davis replied, threading a hand through her hair and kissing her forehead. "Do you want something to eat?"

Rumiko hummed, feeling his hand massage against the small of her back and her hair, loving the feel of his touch.

"It's a little late, but I don't think I can say no to that," she grinned playfully, earning her an even deeper blush from the Successor of Courage.

**###**

Wearing a robe now and sipping some tea, Rumiko sat at the table, watching a sleepy DemiVeemon as he tried to wake himself up, and failed. Even the smell of Davis' cooking didn't seem to be enough this time. She pressed her lips together worriedly.

"Davis… Is DemiVeemon sick?"

The Successor of Courage stuck his head in and shook it.

"Nah. Izzy said that there might be a bit of an issue with his energy since Takeru took our digivices. Something to do with how they transmit energy from me to him or something like that."

Rumiko grimaced at that, remembering what Davis had told her last night about Takeru's behavior and how he had taken away his and Ken's digivices. By the sounds of it, the man had changed a great deal from the hopeful, often cheerful boy that she knew back in high school.

"Will he be all right?" Rumiko asked as Davis ducked back into the kitchen, giving DemiVeemon's head a slight nudge, causing him to snort and jerk to attention.

"Huh? Wha…? Yeah, I'll take ten pounds of beef flavored ramen for lunch, please!"

_Yeah, he's a bit out of it…_

Davis emerged once more, bearing two bowls of steaming miso soup.

"It sounds like he's going to be okay once he gets some food in him again," Davis grinned, albeit uncertainly. "But we'll see. Without our digivice, it might start getting a little harder for him and Wormmon. Ken told me that happened to his and Yolei's partners years ago, when we were still kids."

Setting the two bowls down, he heaved a heavy sigh. "If we could go to the digital world like we used to, it wouldn't be a problem."

"Wouldn't you still need a digivice for that though?" Rumiko asked as DemiVeemon yawned and dunked his head into the soup bowl.

"Oh… Right." Davis looked positively glum at this realization before glancing over at his partner, who appeared to have fallen asleep in his own food. Little bubbles rising and popping in the still steaming hot soup.

"DemiVee…" he began, only to be cut off when the In-training digimon's face suddenly shot up from the bowl, burning red and purple and eyes wide with shock.

_"Owww! Hot! Hot! Hooot!"_

"Easy there, buddy. Easy. Rumiko? Where do you keep the towels? Same place as before?"

"I'll go get them," she said, giving his shoulder a squeeze as she rose to her feet. Hurrying out to the kitchen, she pulled open cupboards, quickly finding what she needed. Tearing off several sheets, she began to head back out toward the main dining area when her cell phone rang. Taking it out of her robe's pocket, she checked the caller ID and saw that it was her mother.

"Hey, Mom," she greeted, hurrying out of the kitchen to help Davis with his digimon partner's wounds.

**###**

Rika stood in the subway, waiting for the train to come. Rika felt…oddly happy and peaceful, a small smile gracing her features. Thoughts of the Noh play and Renamon played in her mind, thinking back on all the times that Renamon had stood by her side

"Rumiko?" she heard her grandmother say next to her on the phone. "We're heading home right now. Okay. See you later."

_Mom…_ she thought, and for once she couldn't summon the irritation she felt earlier that morning with regards to her relationship with Davis.

_Why was I so mad about it in the first place?_ she wondered idly before brushing the thought away, no longer caring about it, at least for the time being. She was happy. She had Renamon by her side, and as long as they had each other, she felt things would be okay.

The sudden beeping of her digivice broke her out of her thoughts. Unclipping it from her belt, she lifted it to find the compass function swinging directly behind her. Seeing this as she hung up, Seiko raised an eyebrow.

"Rika?" she asked.

"My digivice is going crazy," Rika reported, suddenly worried for her grandmother. "There must be a digimon around here."

Following the compass's arrow, she looked up to find two girls wearing school uniforms giggling over a tiny, creampuff-white digimon with wide, green eyes and the happiest smile she had ever seen.

"Oh, it's just Calumon," Rika smiled, relaxing a little as the girls laughed about how cute the tiny digimon was. _Nothing to worry about, unless Calumon overdoes it with the cutesy act._

Feeling relieved that her grandmother wouldn't get mixed up in her duties as a Tamer, she began to turn her thoughts back to the play, only to be drawn back to her digivice as it beeped again, the compass rotating around the screen urgently.

"Wait a second. It's picking up _another_ signal. And it's _big._ There's another digimon here."

Almost immediately, a cloud of digital mist billowed in from the entrance to their left, quickly enveloping the whole of the tunnel. At once, Seiko jerked and raised her arms to shield her eyes as a strange, discomforting, _prickling_ feeling, causing her sight to suddenly become blurry.

_"Ah!"_ she cried out as Rika slipped her pair of violet sunglasses over her eyes. Taking hold of her by the arm, Rika began steering her away from the platform and toward the exit.

"Rika! I can't see!"

"It's all right, it won't last for very long," Rika replied. "Just stay with me! We've got to get out of here!"

As she pushed her grandmother toward the exit, she heard a loud hiss emanating from the tunnel. Her heart jumped into her mouth just then.

_"Renamon!"_ she called out, and through their mental link, she felt the wind blowing against her partner's fur as she rushed to join her as quickly as possible.

_"I'm coming Rika!"_ she heard her shout to herself. _"I knew I shouldn't have left her alone!_

It was going to take seconds for Renamon to get here. Behind her, she heard people screaming. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw the shape of a great cobra emerge from the tunnel, its jaws opening, eyeing the fleeing people gleefully like a meal.

"W-What…What's going on?" Seiko asked shakily, the woman stumbling as she moved with bleary vision, allowing herself to be pushed by her granddaughter.

"Don't worry about that! Just keep moving! We're almost at the…"

She felt something slip down and hit the ground behind them. Her cell phone. Cursing under her breath, she dropped back and rushed back after it, leaving Seiko to turn back immediately upon feeling her granddaughter's hands leave her.

_"Rika…!"_ she began, spinning about as her vision began to return.

She saw the shadowy shape of her granddaughter as Renamon materialized before her, and behind them, a dark, overwhelming shadow with gleaming, red eyes, shaped like a serpent. It reared up, fangs shining as the mist began to clear.

Fear leapt into her heart and she moved to run toward her granddaughter, only for a guard to take hold of her and yank her back.

"You must get out of here immediately!" he shouted, pulling her back toward the exit.

"B-But my granddaughter…!"

"It's dangerous in here! Hurry! We have to evacuate! Let's go! Let's go!"

"But… Rika!" Seiko cried frantically, struggling against the guard as he pulled her away. _"Rika!"_

**###**

Rika drew off her sunglasses, doing her best to ignore her grandmother's calls. She was out of the way now, and no longer in danger. The digital field was rapidly dissipating, and she couldn't afford any distractions from dealing with this new threat. She glanced at Renamon, frowning upon seeing her condition. Her fur was battered looking, as though she had gone a few rounds with Growlmon or Gargomon.

"Renamon…" she began, but the vulpine digimon shook her head.

"Not now," the kitsune said, and through their connection, Rika felt her promise to explain her appearance once things had calmed down. For now, they needed to focus on the here and now if they were to survive.

_I'll need to use a stamina card though,_ Rika thought, one hand moving to her card box.

"Everyone's out of the subway," she began as the snake digimon paused before them, grinning as its tongue slipped out and tested the air. "Now, let's get to work."

Both digivice and card whipped out as the girl fell into a combat stance.

"Time to make ourselves a new pair of cowboy boots!"

"And a purse to match," Renamon added, crouching down in preparation for battle.

"Walk all over him!"

Renamon leapt into the air, crossing her arms in front of her, forming a sphere of light that shattered as she swept her arms outward, leaving a cloud of crystalline, glowing shards that shot outward toward the massive serpent. The snake laughed, sweeping its tail out with lightning speed, slapping away the attack with ease, seemingly amused by the attempt. Surprised, Renamon landed, her mind racing. Clearly, this digimon was strong, likely stronger than a Champion.

"Rika!"

"It didn't even faze him," the girl shook her head in surprise, the scanning function rising up from her screen, displaying the image of the snake, yet presenting the dreaded words, _No Data_ for her to see. This was _not_ a good start to the battle.

"Who _is_ this guy? Why won't this piece of junk tell me anything!" Looking up, she saw that the serpent hadn't yet counterattacked, and seemed to be taking its time as it reared up. So confident in its power that it wasn't even taking them seriously.

"Renamon! The digivice isn't giving me any data on him!"

"Whatever we're going to do, we'd better do it fast!" Renamon called back. Growling, Rika tried scanning the creature again. There _had_ to be something she could use!

For a wonder, the holographic circle rose up again, and _this_ time displayed some stats that she could use.

"Wait! I've got something! Sandiramon, a _virus_ type! He's an _Ultimate_ digimon and a Holy Beast."

The girl felt her heart skip a beat, remembering the battle with Mihiramon.

"I've got to make Renamon digivolve," she said to herself, the holographic circle receding as she looked back up. "Otherwise, we don't stand a chance!"

The snake digimon struck then, lunging toward them with a gaping maw and shining fangs. Rika and Renamon both turned and dove out of the way quickly, easily avoiding the digital reptile, its bulk proving to be a hindrance in the confined space. Hurrying over to a stairwell, the two ducked behind it, watching the reptile slip on by and back down into the trainline, vanishing into the tunnels.

_What…is it doing?_ Rika wondered, watching it disappear in to the darkness. It didn't actually seem to be interested in fighting them, making it rather unusual behavior for a wild digimon. Did it even care?

"I can take him, Rika," Renamon said as, behind her, Calumon bounced into view, curious about what was going on and why everyone had suddenly vanished.

"Renamon…" the girl began hesitantly, taking in her condition. The kitsune was battered and hurt after all…

_No. If Renamon says she can fight, she can fight._

Taking certainty in her partner's words, Rika drew out a digivolution card – the _Evolution Phase_ card that Takato had thrown to her during the battle with Mihiramon – and quickly slashed it through her digivice. A shell of data rapidly surrounded the vulpine digimon, and quickly shattered as she pronounced her evolution.

_"Renamon! Digivolve tooo… Kyubimon!"_

Leaping onto Kyubimon's back, Rika quickly settled herself and took hold of the kitsune's ribbons.

"Let's go!" she declared, bracing herself. "He's not getting away!"

With her partner on her back, Kyubimon dashed off into the tunnel after their quarry.


End file.
